Originally published here.

SUMMARY

Approximately one in six people in the European Union (EU) aged 15 and over lives with some kind of disability. Even if there has been an overall improvement in the employment situation of persons with disabilities in the EU(given the increase in employment rates), they still remain among the most disadvantaged groups as regards employment. This phenomenon considerably affects the EU's social integration ability and economic growth. Alongside and in support of Member States' policies, the EU has introduced a series of legal provisions, initiatives, actions and strategies to improve the employment situation of disabled people. In 2010, the EU signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which is a legally binding international treaty. According to the CRPD, the right to work and employment is a fundamental right (Article 27).

The main instrument supporting the CRPD's implementation in the EU is the European disability strategy 2010-2020. Its overall aim is to empower people with disabilities so that they can enjoy their full rights, participate in society and have equal access to employment as others. Since 2017, the European Pillar of Social Rights has provided further impetus to the active social inclusion of people with disabilities. In relation to the European disability strategy 2010-2020, the European Pillar of Social Rights and the European Semester (established in 2010 as an annual cycle for economic, social and fiscal policy coordination), the EU supports a number of initiatives designed to assist disabled people as regards employment. These include: non-discrimination, workplace adaptations, public employment services, accessibility, financial incentives and EU funding. Since the early 1980s, the European Parliament has given priority to combating all forms of discrimination against disabled people, in particular, as regards employment. Academics and stakeholders share the view that tackling any kind of discrimination against, and fostering the active inclusion of, people with disabilities in the labour market are equally important for the EU's economy and society.

Background

The right to work and employment is a fundamental right enshrined in Article 27 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD). However, at European Union (EU) level, only 50.6 % of persons with disabilities are employed, compared to 74.8 % of persons without disabilities. The unemployment rate of persons with disabilities in the EU, aged 20- 64, is 17.1 % compared to 10.2 % of persons without disabilities, and the EU activity rate of persons with disabilities(percentage of active personsin relation to the comparable total population) is only 61.0 % compared to 82.3 % of non-disabled people.

Moreover, women with disabilities, young disabled persons and persons with high support needs are more likely to be discriminated against and excluded from the labour market (ANED, 2017). Unfortunately, disability is not a marginal phenomenon. According to data collected by Eurofound in its fourth European quality of life survey (latest data available, 2016), 28 % of EU respondents reported living with a chronic (or a long-standing) physical or mental health problem, illness or disability that hampers them in their daily activities.

Relevant EU and international treaties

As over time the EU has paid increasingly closer attention to the situation of disabled people, the question of what would be the right legal basis for introducing a genuine EU disability policy also became increasingly important. The rights of persons with disabilities have been enshrined in the EU Treaties since 1997. Article 19 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU, ex-Article 13 TEC) stipulates that 'in defining and implementing its policies and activities, the Union shall aim to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation'.

Moreover, Article 26 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, adopted in 2000, is dedicated to the professional and social integration of persons with disabilities: 'All disabled persons, whatever the origin and nature of their disablement, must be entitled to additional concrete measures aimed at improving their social and professional integration. These measures must concern, in particular, according to the capacities of the beneficiaries, vocational training, ergonomics, accessibility, mobility, means of transport and housing'. Having come into effect in 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon attributed the same legal value to the Charter as the Treaties.

Adopted in 2006, the UNCRPD was the first international legally binding instrumentto set minimum standards for the rights of persons with disabilities and the first human rights convention to which the EU became a party. The right to work and employment is a fundamental right enshrined in Article 27 of the convention. By ratifying the UN CRPD in 2010, the EU associated itself with the efforts agreed at the international level to guarantee the fundamental rights of disabled people. In 1997, the inclusion of disability in the Treaty of Amsterdam (Article 13) gave the EU a new competence enabling it to combat discrimination against disabled people. Moreover, a provision on the integration of disabled people was incorporated into Article 26 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. From that point on, measures taken by the Member States to guarantee compliance with the Charter were to be guided by the goal to give disabled people the possibility to lead a normal life and be as equally socially integrated as others.

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