The document summarizes key points regarding disability and structural funds regulations for 2014-2020. It discusses the importance of structural funds for inclusion of persons with disabilities. It outlines goals from the EU Disability Strategy and data showing employment, education and poverty gaps for persons with disabilities. It also discusses the legal basis of the UN Convention on Disability and proposals to strengthen disability inclusion in structural fund regulations and programs.

1. Disability in
Structural Funds Regulations
2014-2020
23rd International Conference for Spina Bifida and Hydrocefalus
15 - 16 June 2012, Stockholm
Simona Giarratano
Social Policy Officer
European Disability Forum www.edf-feph.org

2. Who are we?
• EDF is an independent EU umbrella organisation
• Represents more than 80 million persons with
disabilities in Europe
• It is the voice of disabled people in the European
Union fighting to have equal rights
• EDF adopts the Human rights approach to disability
(away from a charitable and medical approach)
• EDF is an organisation of disabled people

3. Disability – Structural Funds
Importance of the Structural Funds
 Structural Funds account for € 50 billion of spending per year more than one-
third of the total EU expenditure
 in the current programming period the ESF alone has allocated almost € 10
billion on the inclusion of disadvantaged persons, including persons with
disabilities
EU Disability Strategy 2010 – 2020
 One in six people in the European Union (EU) has a disability that ranges from
mild to severe making around 80 million who are often prevented from taking
part fully in society and the economy because of environmental and attitudinal
barriers.
 For people with disabilities the rate of poverty is 70 % higher than the average
partly due to limited access to employment.
 Over a third of people aged over 75 have disabilities, over 20 % are considerably
restricted. These numbers are set to rise as the EU‘s population ages.

4. Employment and disability
Persons with disabilities and the EU 2020 goals:
Employment rate of persons with disabilities is far below the EU
average (EU-SILC 2008)
90
80
70
60
50
%
40
30
20 Persons with disabilities
10
Persons without disabilities
EU 2020
0
RO HU PL IE EL CZ BG BE ES IT LT EU UK SI DK AT NL PT FI EE SK DE LU SE CY LV

5. Education and disability
Persons with disabilities and the EU 2020 goals
Persons with disabilities have a significant lower level of tertiary
education (EU-SILC 2008)
20
10
0
-10
-20
-30 Disabled: Distance from EU2020 in percentage points
Non-disabled: Distance from EU2020 in percentage points
-40
PT RO EL DE HU IT PL CZ AT SK BG EU LV SI EE UK IE LT LU BE CY ES NL FI SE DK

6. Poverty and disability
Persons with disabilities and the EU 2020 goals
Persons with disabilities are at higher risk of living below the poverty
line (EU-SILC 2008)
45
40
Persons with disabilities
Persons without disabilities
35
30
25
%
20
15
10
5
0
SK CZ HU LU NL DK AT PL SE DE EU IT BE IE RO UK PT FI ES EL SI BG LT EE CY LV

7. Legal basis 1/3
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(UNCRPD)
 Became a legally binding document for the EU in January 2011.
 Article 4: States Parties are bound to take into account the protection
and promotion of the human rights of persons with disabilities in all
policies and programmes
 UN Convention as a frame of reference for the future Structural Funds’
(SF) General Regulation. Key substantive provisions:
• Accessibility (Article 9)
• Education (Article 24)
• Employment (Article 27)
• Community living (article 19)
• Participation (articles 4 and 33)
• Statistics (Article 31)

8. Legal basis 2/3
Commission Staff Working Paper : Operational Guidance on
taking account of fundamental Rights in Commission Impact
Assesments
 In addition, the Union has singed and formally confirmed tha UN
Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This, the first legally
binding human rights instrument to which the Union is party, entered
into force on 22 January 2011. The purpose of this Convention is to
promote, protect and ensure full and equal enjoyment of all human
rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities. The
Union is bound by the Convention to the extent of its area of
competence specified in the “Declaration of competence“ annexed to
Council Decision 2010/48/EC

9. Legal basis 3/3
Council Decision concerning the conclusion, by the
European Community, of the UNCRPD
 Includes the Council Regulation laying down provisions on the European
Regional Developmùent Fund, the European Social Fund and the
Cohesion Fund and repealing regulation

10. Current programming period:
Lessons learnt 1/2
 Article 16 current regulation:
 8% of the programmes reviewed demonstrated a
“comprehensive integration“– 22% just as a declarative
integration (Public Policy and Management Institute)
 1,2 million people with disabilities live in institutions (Report ad-
Hoc Expert group on the Transition from Institutional to
community based services) – Institutions in Hungary and Romania
(European Coalition of Community Living
 Austria: Buildings were financed in inaccessible way “Genusshotel
Riesersburg”
 Germany: Concept of accessibility not used in programes
“Rückenwind – für die Beschäftingen in der Sozialwirtschaft”

11. Current programming period:
Lessons learnt 2/2
 Spain: Operational Programme Fighting Discrimination
 Bulgaria: Operational Programme for Regional Development
– renovation of social infrastructures – Alternative services
for children currently living in residential institutions
 Operational programmes in Stockholm, West Wales and the
Valleys, United Kingdom-Ireland – good practice of
programme design, implementation, monitoring and
evaluation with adequate institutional structure.

12. General Regulation 1/2
Draft proposal launched in October 2011
Includes:
Common Provision Regulation and 5
specific Regulations on
- European Regional Development Fund
- European Social Fund
- Cohesion Fund
- European Agricultural Fund for Rural
Development
- European Maritime and Fisheries Fund

13. General Regulation 2/2
THEMATIC OBJECTIVES
• enhancing access to ICT
• promoting employment and supporting labour mobility
• promoting social inclusion and combating poverty
• investing in education, skills and lifelong learning
Other objectives that can promote accessibility for persons
with disabilities are:
• strengthening research, technological development,
innovation
• promoting sustainable transport and removing
bottlenecks in key network infrastructures

14. POSITIVE PROPOSAL
• Equality and non-discrimination (new art. 7, ex art. 16)
• Partnership with equality bodies and civil society
• Common Strategic Framework
• Operational Programmes to aim at antidiscrimination
and accessibility for persons with disabilities
• Ex-ante conditionality: implementation of the UN CRPD
• Annual implementation reports to include accessibility
for persons with disabilities

15. ESF: WHAT’S NEW?
• Reference to the UN CRPD: e.g. education, employment, accessibility
and shift from institutional to community-based care
• Reference to persons with disabilities in the Fund’s mission
• Scope of Support: Combating discrimination as a thematic objective
and mention of disability among other vulnerable groups
• Inclusion of disability under the new concentration requirements
• Direct reference to disability related indicators
• Specific actions targeted at persons with disabilities to increase
labour market participation, social inclusion, reduce educational and
health inequalities

16. ERDF: window of opportunity
• Scope of Support Investments in social and educational
infrastructure; in infrastructure providing basic services to
citizens in transport and ICT
• Investment Priorities in health and social infrastructure which
contribute to (…) transition from institutional to community-
based services
• Common indicators to be used to measure the results of
investments in growth and jobs
ACCESSIBILITY TO BE INCLUDED!

17. WHAT DO WE WANT? 1/4
• Reference to the UN CRPD to be included as a recital in the
CPR and specific regulations
• Maintain article 5 on partnership principle
• Reference to accessibility to be included under article 7 of
the CPR

18. WHAT DO WE WANT? 2/4
• Recognition of disability and accessibility as investment
priorities under the Common Strategic Framework
• Defend the provision that includes the implementation of
the UN CRPD as ex-ante conditionality and extend it to
cover the whole UN CRPD
• Defend the thematic conditionality 10 promoting
transition from institutions to community based care and
fight against segregation

19. WHAT DO WE WANT? 3/4
• Defend accessibility for persons with disability in article 87
on operational programmes
• Maintain accessibility and disability under article 100
(monitoring committee ) and 101 (annual reporting
obligations)
• Include accessibility requirements for persons with
disabilities among the investment priorities of the ERDF

20. WHAT DO WE WANT? 4/4
• Include “accessible infrastructure” under the scope of action
of the ERDF
• Include accessibility indicators in the ANNEX to the ERDF
regulation
• Defend the thematic concentration of 20% of the total ESF
resources to social inclusion and combating poverty

21. • Ask your managing authorities to include you in the
process of developing the Partnership Contracts
• Ask the managing authorities to invite you to the
monitoring committees once the programmes will start
• Contact your national authorities and disseminate our
key messages. This will prepare the Members States to
the debate that they will have in the Council during the
negotiations with the Parliament

22. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
Simona Giarratano
Social Policy Officer
simona.giarratano@edf-feph.org