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The European Disability Forum (in short EDF) had an important meeting. The meeting was with the European Ombudsman. The European Ombudsman makes sure that the European Union (in short EU) does what it should. EDF said that the EU needs to do more to help people with disabilities. They talked about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (in short UN CRPD). The UN CRPD helps people with disabilities and gives them more rights. The European Ombudsman said that they would make sure that the EU supports people with disabilities more. |
European Disability Forum (EDF) President Yannis Vardakastanis and Acting Director Javier Güemes have visited the European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly to highlight the need for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) to be a central aspect in European Union policy-making.
The discussions made particular reference to the work carried out by the EU Ombudsman on the UN CRPD and its role in monitoring the implementation of the Convention in member states. The framework created to oversee the implementation of the UN CRPD sees EDF play an equal role in discussions alongside the Ombudsman, the European Agency of Fundamental Rights, the European Parliament and the European Commission.
Following a period of change after the recent European elections and the selection of new Commissioners, EDF spoke about the need to reenergise the implementation process of the UN CRPD, which was ratified by the EU in 2010. According to Yannis Vardakastanis, the EU failed to assess the compatibility of existing legislation when adopting the Convention in full.
In a series of hugely positive talks, the EU Ombudsman, the body responsible for complaints relating to EU institutions, acknowledged the importance of monitoring the European institutions to ensure that future EU policy is in line with the laws laid out by the UN CRPD. Working alongside EDF, its member organisations, including Inclusion Europe, and the disability movement more generally, Emily O’Reilly has vowed to ensure that the EU Framework is respected and that progress continues to be made in the implementation of the Convention in EU policy.
