Commission proposes concrete plan for a better accessibility for persons with disabilities

Europe Oct 23, 2011

BRUSSELS: The Commission adopted on 19 OCTOBER 2011 a package for new infrastructure policy. It comprises a proposal for the revision of important European transport network guidelines (TEN-T) and a proposal for a Connecting Europe Facility. Why are they both positive for persons with disabilities?

The UNCRPD recognizes the importance of accessibility in enabling persons with disabilities to fully enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms. Transport and digital infrastructure are fundamental for freedom of movement of persons with disabilities; for the access to the internal market and for the mobility of persons and goods. Two proposals have been released:

• A regulation establishing the Connecting Europe Facility has been proposed to improve interconnected transport, energy and digital networks.
• In order to establish a single, network that integrates land, sea and air transport networks throughout the Union, the European Commission has established the trans-European transport network (TEN-T), which main objective is to allow goods and people to circulate between Member States and assuring international connections.

For the disability movement, the accessibility of transport and digital networks is a key issue to allow 80 million European with disabilities to have the same opportunities to move, study, work, live and participate to the internal market as any other citizens in the EU.

For more information, please visit European Disability Forum website