53% of Europeans consider disability discrimination to be widespread in their country, compared to 45% in 2008, according to a recent Eurobarometer survey. On the occasion of the European Day of People with Disabilities, the European Commission, in close cooperation with the European Disability Forum, is organising a conference focusing on independent living. The campaign “For Diversity. Against Discrimination.” of the European Commission, which raises awareness on all discrimination and notably on the ground of disability, will be present at the conference.

Vladimír Špidla, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities said: "Europe has a strong legal framework to promote equal treatment, but disabled people continue to face discrimination on a daily basis. The Commission's proposal to extend protection against disability discrimination beyond the workplace is a cornerstone of our social agenda – ending a hierarchy in people's levels of protection against discrimination. The European Parliament has given its support and we hope that we will move closer to agreement with EU ministers in the next few months." The conference is organised every year: this time it takes place in Brussels on 3-4 December and aims at increasing the understanding of issues related to independent living. It will focus in particular on economic autonomy, community services and assistive technologies.

Key figures

There are about 65 million people with disabilities in Europe and the number is increasing with the ageing of the population. The last Eurobarometer opinion survey on discrimination (1) Special Eurobarometer on discrimination in the EU, November 2009: http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/eb_special_en.htm  revealed there has been a strong increase in perceived discrimination on the ground of disability from 45% in 2008 to 53% in 2009, possibly related to the impact of the economic slowdown. This figure varies from one country to another.

In Malta, this percentage is: 33% compared to 21% in 2008.

Facts and figures released by the European Disability Forum indicate that disabled people are two to three times more likely to be unemployed than non-disabled people. In addition, people with disabilities are more than 50% less likely to reach tertiary education than non-disabled people. This contributes to disabled people earning lower incomes: only 38% of disabled people aged 16-34 across Europe have an earned income, compared to 64% of non-disabled people.

(1) Special Eurobarometer on discrimination in the EU, November 2009: http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/eb_special_en.htm

Background

Last week, the EU came a step closer to becoming a party of the UN Convention on disabled rights when EU ministers agreed to conclude the Convention. The Convention is the first international legally binding instrument establishing minimum standards for the protection and safeguarding of a full range of civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights of people with disabilities around the world. It is also the first comprehensive human rights convention which the EU is concluding. See the European Commission's press release of 30 November 2009: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/1850&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=fr

The European Commission is also working on the next European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 which will notably reflect the core elements of the Convention.

The EU has developed comprehensive legislation to combat discrimination based on race or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation. To complement the existing laws (on Racial Equality and on Employment Equality), the Commission has proposed a new Directive against discrimination based on religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation to extend the protection beyond the field of employment - in social protection, education and access to goods and services. It addresses inter alia the equal treatment of people with disabilities.

“For Diversity. Against Discrimination.” campaign in 2009

The European Commission's “For Diversity. Against Discrimination." information campaign is organised in all 27 EU Member States to raise awareness of discrimination and the legislation which exists to combat it as well as to highlight the benefits of diversity within the workplace and society at large.

In 2009, the campaign participated in 56 national and local events, organised a journalist award which resulted in 515 entries from all EU Member States, launched a new website to inform the general public and organised diversity days in Cyprus, Sweden, Luxembourg and Portugal. In order to increase awareness of the situation of people with disabilities, the campaign is present at relevant events including the Career Day for People with Disabilities in Bulgaria, the "Handica" Exhibition in France, and the German Day of Welfare conference.