EPP Group shares responsibility for disabled citizens

20.05.2015 12:45

EPP Group shares responsibility for disabled citizens

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The EPP Group wants closer cooperation between the EU Institutions to better meet the needs of disabled Europeans. The EU has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and this year, the UN will prepare the first report on how the EU will meet the obligations to which it has signed up to. Ádám Kósa MEP has urged the implementation of the Convention and the three remaining Member States to ratify it.

"I am pleased to see that the EPP Group is the main political force behind the Resolution and is standing up for the rights of disabled people", underlined Kósa. The Resolution calls on the European Commission to include the European Parliament in the drafting of the answers provided by the EU to the UN's questionnaire. The EP is a member of the committee (the so-called EU Framework) overseeing the implementation of the Convention and should fulfil its responsibility in preparing for the discussion with the UN.

"We share the responsibility for disabled citizens in Europe and we urge the Commission to work hand in hand with the Parliament when drafting its answers to the UN on the implementation of the CRPD", said Kósa. The plenary vote showed overwhelming support for better cooperation between the European Commission and the European Parliament.

Note to editors

The EPP Group is the largest political group in the European Parliament with 218 Members from 27 Member States

<p>Background: At a public hearing last week, the European Ombudsman, the Fundamental Rights Agency, the European Disability Forum and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights&#39; office spoke up for the better implementation of the CRPD. The European Parliament&#39;s Employment, Civil Liberties and Petition Committees will draft a Joint Resolution by the end of the year, after the UN report is made public.</p>

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