Zaragoza has been chosen to host the latest European ministerial summit, where disability, dependency, and aging were discussed. As Viviane Reding, the EU Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights, and Citizenship, noted, Europe is becoming an aging continent, and this aging is partly responsible for disability and dependency.
The meeting aimed to take another step toward guaranteeing equal rights for people with disabilities. A European initiative was approved that will select the most accessible city each year, recognizing the implementation of policies that help make life easier for people with disabilities.
The chosen city will be announced in Brussels next December as the best in terms of accessibility, based on the adaptation of buildings, public spaces, transport and infrastructure, information, and communications.
Considering that 10 percent of European citizens have some type of disability, the meeting highlighted the importance of changing attitudes and strategies regarding disability and raising awareness that these people are qualified to work. In addition, it was announced that the European disability strategy will be presented next November and will remain in effect for the next ten years.
It was also announced, as a sign of the desire to improve the situation of people with disabilities, that the relevant legislative reforms to implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will begin next June.
10% of European citizens have some form of disability
Zaragoza has been chosen to host the latest European ministerial summit, where disability, dependency, and aging were discussed. As Viviane Reding, the EU Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights, and Citizenship, noted, Europe is becoming an aging continent, and this aging is partly responsible for disability and dependency.
The meeting aimed to take another step toward guaranteeing equal rights for people with disabilities. A European initiative was approved that will select the most accessible city each year, recognizing the implementation of policies that help make life easier for people with disabilities.
The chosen city will be announced in Brussels next December as the best in terms of accessibility, based on the adaptation of buildings, public spaces, transport and infrastructure, information, and communications.
Considering that 10 percent of European citizens have some type of disability, the meeting highlighted the importance of changing attitudes and strategies regarding disability and raising awareness that these people are qualified to work. In addition, it was announced that the European disability strategy will be presented next November and will remain in effect for the next ten years.
It was also announced, as a sign of the desire to improve the situation of people with disabilities, that the relevant legislative reforms to implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will begin next June.
