62 Amendments of Alex AGIUS SALIBA related to 2019/2975(RSP)
Amendment 1 #
Citation 1
— having regard to Articles 2 of the Treaty on European Union, and Articles 2, 9, 10, 17, 19 and 216(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Amendment 6 #
Citation 2
— having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, particularly to Articles 3, 15, 20, 21, 23, 25, 26 and 2647 thereof,
Amendment 19 #
Citation 5
— having regard to the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD Committee) of 2 October 2015 on the initial report of the European Union, including those on the European Union institutions’ compliance with the Convention as public administrations,
Amendment 27 #
Citation 5 a (new)
- having regard to the exploratory opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee requested by the European Parliament on the situation of women with disabilities,
Amendment 30 #
Citation 5 b (new)
- having regard to the European Ombudsman’s strategic inquiries into how the European Commission ensures that persons with disabilities can access its websites (OI/6/2017/EA), how the European Commission treats persons with disabilities under the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme for EU staff (OI/4/2016/EA), and the Decision in the joint inquiry in cases 1337/2017/EA and 1338/2017/EA on the accessibility for visually impaired candidates of selection procedures to recruit EU civil servants, organised by the European Personnel Selection Office,
Amendment 36 #
Citation 10 a (new)
- having regard to its resolution of 15 September 2016 on application of Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation (‘Employment Equality Directive’),
Amendment 44 #
Draft motion for a resolution
Citation 21 a (new)
Citation 21 a (new)
- having regard to the study of the European Parliament Policy Department C of 2016 on European Structural and Investment Funds and people with disabilities in the European Union,
Amendment 75 #
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas the EU Disability Strategy 2010-2020 failed to include and address the specific situation of women and girls with disabilities, who constitute an important group of women facing discrimination and other violations of their rights;
Amendment 78 #
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas Articles 21 and 26 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union explicitly prohibit discrimination on the grounds of disability and provide for equal participation of persons with disabilities in society;
Amendment 90 #
Recital F a (new)
F a. whereas article 19 of the UN CRPD states that “States Parties to the present Convention recognize the equal right of all persons with disabilities to live in the community, with choices equal to others, and shall take effective and appropriate measures to facilitate full enjoyment by persons with disabilities of this right and their full inclusion and participation in the community (..)”;
Amendment 95 #
Recital F b (new)
F b. whereas the case law of the Court of Justice reinforces the fact that the CRPD is binding on the EU and on its Member States when implementing EU law, as it is an instrument of secondary law2a _________________ 2aCJEU, Joined Cases C-335/11 and C- 337/11 HK Danmark, 11 April 2013,paragraphs 29-30; CJEU, Case C- 363/12Z, 18 March 2014, paragraph 73; CJEU, Case C-356/12 Glatzel, 22 May 2014,paragraph 68.
Amendment 97 #
Recital F c (new)
F c. whereas there are an estimated 80 million persons with disabilities in the European Union, of which 46 million are women
Amendment 98 #
Recital F d (new)
F d. whereas multiple discrimination of different forms and shapes on grounds of gender and disability persists and its effects are social (such as lower self- esteem, economic dependency and social isolation), educational (such as high illiteracy rates and lower educational attainment, especially for women) and labour market exclusion (lower participation in the labour market; segregate in low-paid, temporary or precarious jobs), causing further stress and psychological burden for persons with disabilities and their families and carers;
Amendment 99 #
Recital F e (new)
F e. whereas benefits related to disability should be regarded as state support aimed at helping people to remove barriers coming from their disability and/or medical condition in order to participate fully in the society in addition to income replacement when it is needed;
Amendment 100 #
Draft motion for a resolution
Recital F f (new)
Recital F f (new)
F f. whereas Article 9 CRPD recognises that appropriate measures must be taken to ensure that persons with disabilities, in particular girls and women, can enjoy real access to the physical environment, transport facilities, information and communications, including information and communication technologies, and to other facilities and services that are open to or provided for the public, in both rural and urban areas;
Amendment 101 #
Recital F g (new)
F g. whereas gender equality was not horizontally mainstreamed in the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020; whereas equal treatment can be ensured by applying positive measures and policies for women with disabilities, mothers/fathers of children with disabilities, single parents with disabilities and/or single parents of children with disabilities; whereas including a gender dimension in the expected post- 2020 European Disability Strategy will contribute to an integrated approach to eliminating discrimination against women and girls with disabilities;
Amendment 102 #
Recital F h (new)
F h. whereas the Directive on Work-life balance for parents and carers adopted in June 2019 establishes for the first time at a EU level a right for each worker to a carers' leave of five working days per year;
Amendment 133 #
Recital J a (new)
J a. whereas it is imperative for persons with disabilities to have full and equal access to the labour market, which continues to be problematic, their employment rate standing at 58.5 % compared with 80.5 % among persons without disabilities, thus preventing many persons with disabilities from living an independent and active life; whereas the data varies considerably between different types of disabilities and support needs;
Amendment 136 #
Recital J c (new)
J c. whereas participation can only be fully achieved if a large range of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations are included and all types of stakeholders are meaningfully consulted, respecting diverse concepts of disability
Amendment 137 #
Recital J d (new)
J d. whereas employers must be supported and encouraged to ensure persons with disabilities are empowered all the way from education to employment; whereas to this end the awareness raising of employers is one way to combat discrimination in the hiring of persons with disabilities;
Amendment 138 #
Recital J e (new)
J e. whereas measures in the workplace are crucial for promoting positive mental health, preventing mental ill-health and psychosocial disabilities
Amendment 146 #
Paragraph 1
1. Acknowledges the advancement in the implementation of the UNCRPD brought about by the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020; and calls on the Commission to continue the work by building upon and integrating what has been achieved and by upscaling the present Strategyby adopting an ambitious European Disability Rights Agenda 2020- 2030;
Amendment 147 #
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Recalls that the UNCRPD Committee, in its Concluding Observations, critically noted that austerity measures adopted by the EU and its Member States had worsened the standard of living of persons with disabilities, leading to higher poverty and social exclusion levels and cuts in social services and support to families and community-based services;
Amendment 149 #
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Amendment 151 #
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1 c. Highlights that equality, non- discrimination, and the obligation to provide reasonable accommodation are at the core of the Disability Strategy and affect all areas covered by the strategy
Amendment 154 #
Paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. Calls on the Commission to propose a comprehensive, ambitious and long-term post-2020 European Disability Strategy (the post-2020 Strategy) which include a European disability right agenda :
Amendment 172 #
Paragraph 2 – indent 4
- reflecting the diversity of persons with disabilities, drawing equal attention also to persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities
Amendment 176 #
Paragraph 2 – indent 4 a (new)
- reflecting the guidance and interpretation of the UNCRPD given by the General Comments of the UNCRPD Committee, including definitions of the key terms; in particular on a common definition at the EU Level on "disability"
Amendment 186 #
Paragraph 2 – indent 5
- mainstreaming the rights of the childrenall persons with disabilities into all policies and areas,
Amendment 193 #
Paragraph 2 – indent 5 a (new)
- recognising and addressing the multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination they may face, and in particular the challenges faced by women, girls, children, older and LGBTI persons with disabilities, as well as persons coming from minorities.
Amendment 224 #
Draft motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Highlights the importance of a holistic definition and application of accessibility and its value as the basis for persons with disabilities to have equal opportunities as recognised in the CRPD and in line with the UN CRPD General Comment No 2, taking into account the diversity of the needs of persons with disabilities and promoting universal design as a principle of the EU;
Amendment 227 #
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Calls on the Member States to fully implement and continuously monitor all accessibility-related legislation, including the Audio visual Media Services Directive, the Telecoms Package and the Web Accessibility Directive, as well as relevant transport and passengers rights regulations; calls on the EU in this respect to coordinate and monitor this implementation in addition to promoting the ratification of the CRPD at internal and external level;
Amendment 230 #
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2 c. Calls on the Commission to extend - in the framework of the 2020-2030 strategy - EU accessibility requirements to all public transport modes as well as strengthen passenger rights to avoid further discrimination
Amendment 232 #
Paragraph 3
3. Is concerned that the monitoring of some pieces of legislation such as the Web Accessibility Directive or the Regulation on Rail Accessibility (TSI- PRM) is through self-assessment by industry and Member States and is not conducted by an independent entity, and recommends therefore that the Commission adopts a monitoring methodology that involves persons with disabilities; Stresses that the post 2020 Strategy should be based on a cross- cutting, comprehensive review of all EU legislation and policy in order to ensure full harmonisation with the provisions of the UNCRPD; insists that it should include a revised declaration of competences including all policy areas in which the EU has legislated or adopted soft law measures that have an impact on persons with disabilities;
Amendment 242 #
Draft motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Calls on the Commission to revise the cross-border health care directive to bring it in line with the CRPD in order to guarantee access to affordable and quality cross-border healthcare for persons with disabilities
Amendment 243 #
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Welcomes the recently adopted Directive on Work-life balance for parents and carers and in particular the introduction of a carers' leave of five working days per year for each worker in order to provide personal care or support to a relative, or to a person who lives in the same household as the worker, and who is in need of significant care or support for a serious medical reason, such as disability; calls on Member States to implement the Directive swiftly and to step up their efforts to ensure the take-up of the leave by making such leave paid; further encourages the Member States to introduce special provisions under the right to paternity leave, parental leave, carers' leave and flexible working arrangements that are adapted to particular needs, such as those of parents with a disability or parents of children with a disability or a long-term illness;
Amendment 276 #
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses the need for continuous monitoring of the implementation of the UNCRPD; calls for the collection of robust, disaggregated, comparable data on the situation of persons with disabilities to facilitate proper monitoring of progress; urges the Commission to provide adequate resources to the EU CRPD Framework to enable it to perform its functions independently and adequately; calls on the Commission to establish a European Access Board to monitor the implementation of EU accessibility legislation;
Amendment 293 #
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission to systematically mainstream the rights of persons with disabilities in all the relevant EU laws, policies and programmes; urges the full integration of the disability-rights perspective in the Gender Equality Strategy, the Youth Guarantee, the European Green deal, the Child Guarantee and the forthcoming Green paper on Ageing, and stresses the need for a Disability Rights Guarantee to assist persons with disabilities into employment, traineeships, job placements and further education;
Amendment 324 #
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission to safeguard the UNCRPD-compliant use of EU funds and to ensure that EU funds will not contribute to the construction or refurbishment of institutional care settings; and/or segregating settings of any size;
Amendment 334 #
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Calls on the Commission to actively promote the transition from institutional and/or segregating care to community based support, including personal assistance, and inclusive (mainstream) services, in all EU policy initiatives;
Amendment 396 #
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Calls on Member States to further develop and/or better implement measures that promote participation of people with disabilities in the labour market and to therewith protect and promote their right to work and social inclusion;
Amendment 399 #
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10 b. Is concerned that in some Member States, persons with disabilities working in sheltered workshops are not formally recognised as workers under the law, are paid less than the minimum wage and are not entitled to the same social protection as other workers; Urges the commission to charge member states to respect of the principle of equal treatment and equal pay for work of equal value for all workers;
Amendment 406 #
Paragraph 10 c (new)
10 c. Insists that gender-disaggregated data must be collected in order to identify the forms of intersectional multiple discrimination that are faced by women and girls with disabilities, in all areas covered by the Istanbul Convention and wherever relevant
Amendment 408 #
Paragraph 10 d (new)
10 d. Stresses with concern that women and girls with disabilities are more likely to become victims of gender-based violence,especially domestic violence and sexual exploitation; Calls on the EU to implement urgently the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention)
Amendment 411 #
Paragraph 10 e (new)
10 e. Urges the Commission to come forward with a consolidated proposal within the post-2020 European Disability Strategy and to adopt effective measures to prevent violence against women and children with disabilities which target families, communities, professionals and institutions; highlights the important role that educational institutions such as schools play in promoting social inclusion, and points to the need for a gender-mainstreamed educational policy to be adopted across the Member States;
Amendment 413 #
Paragraph 10 g (new)
10 g. Regrets that the current European policies on the rights of the child do not sufficiently include a comprehensive rights-based strategy for boys and girls with disabilities and safeguards to protect their rights, and that the disability strategies do not sufficiently address and mainstream the rights of boys and girls with disabilities;
Amendment 414 #
Paragraph 10 h (new)
10 h. Calls on the Member States to ensure access for persons with disabilities to health services that are gender- sensitive, including health-related rehabilitation and, when applicable, long- term care
Amendment 415 #
Paragraph 10 i (new)
10 i. Is of the opinion that the European Funds must adhere to the CRPD and Structural Funds should continue to foster deinstitutionalisation, finance support services to realise the right to live independently in the community, and that the ex ante conditionalities must be concrete and quality-assessed; Calls on the EU to ensure all funding programmes are accessible and include a separate budget for accessibility; Furthermore, the commission shall make sure all funds are actively invested in research to develop better and more affordable assistive technology for persons with disabilities and towards increasing the participation of persons with disabilities in all EU funded programmes;
Amendment 416 #
Paragraph 10 j (new)
10 j. Is concerned that the public procurement ex-ante conditionality to buy accessibly before signing a public contract is not sufficiently implemented at national level; recommends to this effect to set up a portal, similarly to the green public procurement, with all accessibility guidelines;
Amendment 417 #
Paragraph 10 k (new)
10 k. Recalls that the implementation of all accessibility related obligations require sufficient funding on EU, national and local level; calls on the Commission and the Member States to boost public investment in order to ensure accessibility for people with disabilities to both the physical and digital environment
Amendment 418 #
Paragraph 10 l (new)
10 l. Calls on the Commission to include a pre-condition on EU funded project proposals to respect accessibility following a universal design approach when developing post „Horizon2020” framework for Research and Development
Amendment 419 #
Draft motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 m (new)
Paragraph 10 m (new)
10 m. Calls for the EU institutions and Member States to ensure that the Erasmus + and other Youth programmes are fully accessible to persons with disabilities through individualised reasonable accommodation and that information on their accessibility rights is made available to people with disabilities to encourage their participation; recommends to this end to maximise existing tools, as for example provided in the MappED! inclusive mobility project;
Amendment 420 #
Paragraph 10 n (new)
10 n. Calls on the EU to implement an EU-Wide European disability card; include all countries in a future long-term initiative with a view to having the same scope as the European disability parking card and to include access services allowing participation in social and cultural life;
Amendment 434 #
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Member States to contribute toStresses how important it is to reach an agreement as soon as possible, and calls on the Council to break the deadlock, in order to move towards a pragmatic solution and speed up without further delay the adoption of the proposedEU horizontal anti-discrimination directive thereby extending protection to persons with disabilities outside the area of employproposed by the Commission in 2008 and voted for by Parliament; considers it a pre- condition to secure a consolidated and coherent EU legal framework, protecting against discrimination on the grounds of religion and belief, disability, age and sexual orientation outside of employment; notes that no undue restriction of the Directive’s scope should be accepted; considers that the consolidation of the EU legislative framework on tackling hate crime is also a crucial element, taking into consideration that similar crimes are also prevalent in the work environment;
Amendment 438 #
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Calls on the Commission to promote structural involvement of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in all decision-making phases, both nationally and at EU level, and to fund capacity building of organisations of persons with disabilities to enable them to participate in a structural way in all decisions that concern persons with disabilities;
Amendment 451 #
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12 b. Calls on the EU and the Member States to fund training for and by persons with disabilities, their organisations, trade unions, employers federations, equality bodies, civil servants on the principle of non-discrimination, including multiple and intersectional discrimination and reasonable accommodation
Amendment 457 #
Paragraph 12 c (new)
12 c. Calls on the Commission to include good and bad practices in future reports to enable employers to effectively implement disability legislation
Amendment 458 #
Paragraph 12 d (new)
12 d. Recalls the right of persons with disabilities to an adequate standard of living and social protection particularly financial assistance and respite care; Calls on the Commission to ensure that the 2030 EU Disability Strategy includes specific actions to promote inclusive social protection systems across the EU which would guarantee access to benefits and services to people with disabilities across the life cycle; calls on the Member States to set a social protection floor for persons with disabilities that would guarantee their adequate standard of living;
Amendment 461 #
Paragraph 12 e (new)
12 e. Calls on the Commission to be a leader in disability inclusive implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in external action independent of a new European disability strategy by adopting a clear, transparent and inclusive roadmap to achieving the goals;
Amendment 462 #
Paragraph 12 f (new)
12 f. Recommends the EU to structurally integrate the European Disability Strategy within the European Semester process;
Amendment 463 #
Paragraph 12 g (new)
12 g. Calls for the post 2020 Strategy to set out an interinstitutional structure to oversee its implementation; urges that Disability Focal Points be present in all Commission Directorates General and agencies and in all EU institutions, with the central Focal Point located within the Commission’s General Secretariat; stresses that an interinstitutional mechanism exist to ensure collaboration between the Commission, the Parliament and the Council, with their respective Presidents meeting at the start of each mandate;
Amendment 464 #
Paragraph 12 h (new)
12 h. Calls on the Commission to include a section on European Union institutions as public administrations to ensure that they comply with the UN CRPD in all respects, which includes making available the necessary resources, focal points, coordination mechanisms, internal policies, accessible infrastructure such as buildings, communications (including in sign language and Braille), websites and ICT applications, as well as permanent mechanisms to consult actively and effectively with representative organisations of persons with disabilities, positive actions and anti-discrimination safeguards that are necessary for the successful implementation of the European Disability Rights Agenda and of the CRPD both in the EU at large as well as within the EU institutions and agencies;