ECR Member Daniela Ballico has been appointed CoR rapporteur-general on the "EU Strategy for persons with disabilities" during the European Committee of the Regions' (CoR) March plenary session. She will prepare an opinion on this important topic on behalf of European local and regional authorities.
Ms Ballico, Mayor of Ciampino in Italy, will draw up the CoR's opinion on the EU's Strategy which further expands on the previous European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 that aimed at paving the way to a barrier-free Europe and empowering persons with disabilities so they can enjoy fully their rights and participate in society and economy. Despite the progress made in the past decade, persons with disabilities still face considerable barriers and are more susceptible to poverty and social exclusion.
Mayor Ballico underlined the honour for her to be a CoR rapporteur on this issue right now, saying: “it is imperative that persons with disabilities enjoy the same freedoms and rights as everyone else, free from discrimination. This new Commission Strategy was long expected and my task will be to evaluate its value from the perspective of cities and region."
The ECR Group family has been active on the topic of disability not only in the CoR, but also in the European Parliament. In November 2017 a report by ECR Flemish MEP Helga Stevens on the European Disability Strategy was overwhelmingly supported by MEPs. The report followed up on the European Commission's communication on the implementation of the strategy and set out the Parliament's priorities for a comprehensive and effective disability strategy by 2030.
In June 2020 the European Parliament called on the Commission to present an "ambitious" post-2020 strategy that the rights of people with disabilities and their facilities are respected, a call fully supported by the ECR political family.
There will be an exchange of views on Ms Ballico's opinion in April in the Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture (SEDEC) followed by adoption in plenary in May.