A package of employment measures will help develop national policies that include persons with disabilities in a just green and digital transition, says the European Commission
Some non-governmental organisations have become increasingly vocal in their criticism of how the ambitious ‘Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’, implemented since 2021 and due to conclude in 2030, is being carried out. This strategy was announced by the European Commission as the beginning of building a society of equal opportunities -one in which persons with disabilities throughout the European Union are no longer treated as marginalised groups, but as citizens fully equal to those without disabilities.
However, Europeans with disabilities are not overly satisfied with the pace of the strategy’s development. Organisations and associations representing them have sent numerous complaints to the European Commission’s administration in Brussels. These complaints mainly concern the Commission’s measures on affordable housing, which have not delivered the desired results. Many persons with disabilities in the EU, organisations argue, have been pushed to the brink of subsistence due to unaffordable housing.
Another contentious issue for organisations that unite persons with disabilities and the administration in Brussels is the weak positioning of their members in the labour market. According to official data, of almost 43 million working-age persons with disabilities in the EU, only about 50% have found a place in the labour market – though associations believe the real figure is even more dismal.
Advocates for the rights of persons with disabilities have therefore eagerly awaited the new ‘Package of Employment Measures’, which, according to the official announcement, the European Commission is introducing to support Member States in ensuring social inclusion and economic autonomy for persons with disabilities through employment.
– The package of measures for the employment of persons with disabilities will help in the development of national policies that include persons with disabilities in the fair green and digital transition. Increasing the employment rate of persons with disabilities and reducing the employment gap will also contribute to the EU’s main goals for 2030 in terms of employment and adult participation in training – says the European Commission.
At this moment, it is not yet completely clear what the new package of employment measures contains, but some analysts say that merely reasonable workplace adaptations or raising employers’ awareness of the needs of persons with disabilities will not be sufficient to significantly reduce the fact that nearly half of working-age Europeans with disabilities remain outside the labour market.
