On 3 December, Alzheimer Europe joined over 100 European disability organisations in an open letter coordinated by the European Disability Forum (EDF), urging the new European Commissioner for Equality, Hadja Lahbib, to update the EU Disability Rights Strategy.
The Strategy was launched in 2021 and runs until 2030. It has led to the development of different policies such as the European Disability Card law, however, it only contains actions until the end of this year, which have all been completed or are near completion. As such, the open letter expresses concern that as there is no commitment to update the strategy for the remainder of its lifespan, this may lead to the EU’s commitment to disability rights stalling.
The EDF has previously raised concerns about this matter, including the European Commission President’s political guidelines failing to mention disability rights, the Equality portfolio being downgraded in the College of the Commissioners and Commissioner Lahbib’s failure to commit to updating the Strategy during her Commissioner hearing.
The signatories of the letter call for the Strategy to be updated as soon as possible, encouraging the Commission to make this commitment in advance of the review of the EU’s implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which is scheduled for March 2025.
The full letter is available at: https://www.edf-feph.org/publications/commissioner-lahbib-keep-momentum-disability-rights/