EU for the disabled and ageing

Am I the only one who finds it odd that the ten new factsheets for citizens of the European Union are posted on the web pages of vice-president Viviane Reding, not DG Justice? Mercifully there was no reference to the political guidelines of Commission president José Manuel Barroso on this page.

Translations have been promised, but at this moment the factsheets are available in English, French and German. The first is one A4 page dedicated to people with physical or mental disabilities, including restrictions brought on by ageing:

Removing obstacles for the disabled

The main thrust of the leaflet seems to be, first of all to acknowledge that there are many people with disabilities and that ageing will increase their numbers substantially, and secondly to plug the new disability strategy, contained in a fresh communication from the Commission:

European Disability Strategy 2010-2020: A Renewed Commitment to a Barrier-Free Europe; Brussels 15.11.2010, COM(2010) 636 final

The relatively brief strategy was accompanied by a detailed analytical staff working document SEC(2010) 1323 (88 pages) and an initial implementation plan SEC(2010) 1324 (20 pages).


Update 8 December 2010: For the convenience of readers, links to the Commission staff working documents accompanying the communication from the Commission (available only in English):

European Disability Strategy 2010-2020: A Renewed Commitment to a Barrier-Free Europe; Brussels 15.11.2010, SEC(2010) 1323 final

European Disability Strategy 2010-2020: A Renewed Commitment to a Barrier-Free Europe - Initial plan to implement the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 - List of Actions 2010-2015; Brussels 15.11.2010, SEC(2010) 1324 final



Ralf Grahn



P.S. Macarena Rodríguez blogs actively and expertly from Brussels to Spain (and the Spanish speaking world) on La Oreja de Europa (Europe's Ear), underlining the quality and engagement of Spanish Euroblogs.