Lower the threshold for people with disabilities

All EU citizens deserve full social and economic inclusion and to live free from discrimination. All basic human rights of people with disabilities must be guaranteed, especially in these times of crisis.

"Living with disabilities should become mainstream in every aspect of life so that every disabled citizen in the EU enjoys full participation in the society they live in", said Stelios Kympouropoulos MEP, EPP Group Spokesman on Disability Rights, ahead of the presentation of the 'Disability Rights Strategy for 2021-2030' by the European Commission later today. "I welcome the release of the new Disability Strategy 2021-2030 and I am very glad to see its focus on realising our right to a decent quality of life and to live independently.”

''There is work to do to make accessibility mainstream at every level, not only in public buildings and transport but also in health and education, as well as to increase disabled persons' mobility and integration. This will be beneficial both on an individual level, and for our society as a whole. We are still missing out on great potential, as long as relatively high unemployment rates remain among this group. Disabled people in particular can be of great value to companies because they have often learned to be creative and persistent from a young age", said Kympouropoulos.

"We need to lower the threshold to fully participate in our society, literally and with accurate policies. At the same time, we will do our best to monitor the implementation of the strategy in order to make sure that it fulfils its objectives and lives up to our fellow citizens’ expectations'', stressed Kympouropoulos.