People with disabilities: promoting equal rights and opportunities

The committee adopted the report by Marie-Thérèse HERMANGE (EPP-ED, F) on the Commission communication. The report called for an equal treatment directive going beyond employment (under Article 13 of the Treaty), financial support to enable people with disabilities to participate in all Community programmes, an action plan for their involvement in the information society, an evaluation of research projects which had already received EU funding and the inclusion in the Sixth R&TD Programme of a special section on research into people with disabilities. The committee also underlined the need to mainstream disability issues into all policy formulation and to promote a culture of non-discrimination, recognition of diversity and civil dialogue with, and funding for, NGOs representing people with disabilities. The EU institutions were reminded of their own responsibility to provide access for disabled people. The Commission was invited to submit a proposal for a specific action programme for disabled people beginning in 2004 with a view to continuing the work carried out during the 2003 European Year of Disabled Citizens and promoting the coordination of Member States' disability policies.�