—

having regard to the Treaty on European Union (TEU), the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the Charter),

—

having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and its entry into force in the EU on 21 January 2011, in accordance with Council Decision 2010/48/EC of 26 November 2009 concerning the conclusion, by the European Community, of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (1),

—

having regard to the General Comments of the UNCRPD Committee on the implementation of the UNCRPD, in particular General Comment No 2 (2014) of 22 May 2014 on accessibility, General Comment No 3 (2016) of 26 August 2016 on women and girls with disabilities, General Comment No 5 (2017) of 27 October 2017 on living independently and being included in the community, and General Comment No 6 (2018) of 26 April 2018 on equality and non-discrimination,

—

having regard to the Concluding Observations of the UNCRPD Committee of 2 October 2015 on the initial report of the European Union,

—

having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

—

having regard to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN 2030 Agenda) and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),

—

having regard to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,

—

having regard to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,

—

having regard to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention),

—

having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR),

—

having regard to the Europe 2020 target relating to the fight against poverty and social exclusion,

—

having regard to Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation (2) (Employment Equality Directive),

—

having regard to Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin (3),

—

having regard to the Commission proposal for a Council Directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation (COM(2008)0426) and Parliament’s position thereon of 2 April 2009 (4),

—

having regard to Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies (5),

—

having regard to Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the accessibility requirements for products and services (6),

—

having regard to the regulations laying down the rules on the EU funding programmes under the multiannual financial framework, especially the European Social Fund (ESF), the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), the Erasmus programme, and the Just Transition Fund, which provide EU financial assistance for improving the situation of persons with disabilities,

—

having regard to Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work (7), in particular the employer’s obligation to ensure the safety and health of workers in every aspect related to work and the fact that they may not impose financial costs on workers in order to fulfil this obligation,

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 15 November 2010 entitled ‘European Disability Strategy 2010-2020: A renewed commitment to a barrier-free Europe’ (COM(2010)0636) (Disability Strategy),

—

having regard to the Commission staff working document of 2 February 2017 entitled ‘Progress Report on the implementation of the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020’ (SWD(2017)0029),

—

having regard to the Commission recommendation of 22 June 2018 on standards for equality bodies (8),

—

having regard to the Commission pilot project of 2013 on an EU disability card,

—

having regard to its resolution of 8 July 2020 on the rights of persons with intellectual disabilities and their families in the COVID-19 crisis (9),

—

having regard to its resolution of 18 June 2020 on the European Disability Strategy post-2020 (10),

—

having regard to its resolution of 29 November 2018 on the situation of women with disabilities (11),

—

having regard to its resolution of 30 November 2017 on the implementation of the European Disability Strategy (12),

—

having regard to its resolution of 7 July 2016 on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, with special regard to the Concluding Observations of the CRPD Committee (13),

—

having regard to its resolution of 20 May 2015 on the List of Issues adopted by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in relation to the initial report of the European Union (14),

—

having regard to its resolution of 25 October 2011 on mobility and inclusion of persons with disabilities and the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 (15),

—

having regard to its resolution of 6 May 2009 on the active inclusion of people excluded from the labour market (16),

—

having regard to its resolutions of 17 June 1988 on sign languages for deaf people (17), of 18 November 1998 on sign languages (18), and of 23 November 2016 on sign languages and professional sign language interpreters (19),

—

having regard to its resolution of 17 April 2020 on EU coordinated action to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences (20),

—

having regard to its resolution of 16 January 2019 on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union in 2017 (21),

—

having regard to its resolution of 15 September 2016 on application of Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation (22),

—

having regard to the relevant studies of its Policy Department A, especially the study on ‘Discrimination and Access to Employment for Female Workers with Disabilities’ of 2017, and the study on ‘Reasonable Accommodation and Sheltered Workshops for People with Disabilities: Cost and Returns of Investments’ of 2015,

—

having regard to the relevant studies of the European Parliamentary Research Service, in particular the European Implementation Assessments of 2016 entitled ‘EU Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)’ and ‘The obligations of the EU public administration under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’,

—

having regard to the growing body of case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning the interpretation of Directive 2000/78/EC,

—

having regard to the Annual Report 2018 and 2019 of the European Ombudsman,

—

having regard to the European Ombudsman’s strategic inquiries into how the Commission ensures that persons with disabilities can access its websites (OI/6/2017/EA), how the Commission treats persons with disabilities under the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme for EU staff (OI/4/2016/EA), and its decision in the joint inquiry in cases 1337/2017/EA and 1338/2017/EA on accessibility for visually impaired candidates of selection procedures organised by the European Personnel Selection Office to recruit EU civil servants,

—

having regard to the European Ombudsman’s own-initiative inquiry concerning respect of fundamental rights in the implementation of the EU cohesion policy (OI/8/2014/AN),

—

having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on ‘Shaping the EU agenda for disability rights 2020-2030’,

—

having regard to the thematic reports of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, including their Coronavirus pandemic bulletins,

—

having regard to the Compendium of Practices on Equality Data and to the Guidelines on improving the collection and use of equality data (Equality data guidelines) prepared by the Subgroup on Equality Data of the EU High Level Group on Non-discrimination, Equality and Diversity,

—

having regard to the Gender Equality Index of the European Institute for Gender Equality,

—

having regard to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,

—

having regard to the reports and recommendations of representative organisations of persons with disabilities, especially Autism Europe, the Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Inklusionsfirmen, the European Blind Union, the European Disability Forum, the European Network on Independent Living, the European Union of the Deaf, Inclusion Europe, the International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus and Mental Health Europe, as well as the reports and recommendations of Equinet and academics working on the rights of persons with disabilities,

—

having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure, as well as point (e) of Article 1(1) of, and Annex 3 to, the decision of the Conference of Presidents of 12 December 2002 on the procedure for granting authorisation to draw up own-initiative reports,

—

having regard to the opinions of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality and the Committee on Petitions,

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A9-0014/2021),

A.

whereas persons with disabilities (23) (PwD) have the right to full participation in the labour market and society but their fundamental rights are often withheld in the EU; whereas they are overwhelmingly excluded from the open labour market and denied their right to engage in work on an equal basis with others or face major difficulties in achieving equal access to and equal conditions of participating in the labour market;

B.

whereas PwD continue to face multiple and intersectional discrimination and disadvantage based on their disability and their gender, race, ethnicity, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, migration status or socioeconomic background, including their education level; whereas discrimination is present across the different phases of the work cycle, beginning with recruitment, which can lead to the social exclusion of PwD; whereas discrimination and the lack of workplace diversity cause significant human and economic costs;

C.

whereas the Charter prohibits discrimination on any ground, including that of disability, and recognises the rights of PwD (24);

D.

whereas the EU became a party to the UNCRPD in December 2010, with the Convention coming into force for the EU in January 2011; whereas the UNCRPD is binding upon the EU, its institutions and its Member States, which have a direct obligation to fully implement it, including its Article 27 on work and employment; whereas since its adoption, some, but not sufficient, progress has been made in achieving the goals of the UNCRPD;

E.

whereas the EU is, therefore, obliged to act in a manner which is compatible with the UNCRPD and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is obliged to interpret EU legislation, including the Employment Equality Directive, in a manner which is compatible with the UNCRPD;

F.

whereas the UNCRPD rejects the medical model of disability and endorses the human rights and the socio-contextual model of disability instead; whereas the UNCRPD demands inclusive equality for PwD; whereas the UNCRPD recognises the right of PwD to work on an equal basis with others, to choose their occupation freely, to be accepted and to work in an open, inclusive and accessible work environment;

G.

whereas in line with the definition and requirements under the UNCRPD, reasonable accommodation focuses on the specific needs of an individual, while positive actions apply to a whole group of persons subject to potential discrimination; whereas both are necessary to safeguard the achievement of workplace diversity and to ensure that PwD can equally exercise their right to work; whereas there is a lack of clear EU guidelines concerning reasonable accommodation, which is not sufficiently understood by employers and is often unavailable or insufficient; whereas reasonable accommodation of the needs of workers with disabilities has an essential impact on their job quality and career prospects and the sustainability of work;

H.

whereas one of the key aspects of the employment of PwD is their participation in community life and the transition from institutional to community-based support; whereas the process of deinstitutionalisation in the Member States needs to be finalised, as PwD have the right to live in the community and to be fully included in it; whereas the progress in deinstitutionalisation is uneven across the Member States and despite the introduction of policies and the allocation of substantial funding in the EU, there are still one million people living in institutions;

I.

whereas the Employment Equality Directive (‘the Directive’), which entered into force in 2000, is currently the key EU legal instrument to provide protection against discrimination for PwD; whereas safeguarding equality and non-discrimination is a shared competence between the EU and its Member States;

J.

whereas the Directive is only in partial alignment with the UNCRPD, as it does not embrace the human rights model of disability, it does not address discrimination based on assumed or future disability, it does not target intersectional discrimination, it does not require Member States to adopt positive action measures, it is limited to the field of employment, occupation and vocational training and does not extend to all areas of life as required by the UNCRPD, it does not tackle freedom of movement for the purpose of employment, it does not require the creation of independent monitoring mechanisms, it does not provide for the systemic involvement of PwD and their representative organisations in the monitoring process, and it lacks the obligation to gather disaggregated data;

K.

whereas the Directive does not legally require Member States to designate an equality body to work on discrimination on the ground of disability, which is highly problematic since equality bodies play a central role in the implementation of equal treatment directives on the grounds under their mandate, such as gender, and race and ethnic origin;

L.

whereas collection of comparable data on equality is vital for evidence-based policy- and decision-making; whereas there is a lack of official statistics, in particular on PwD living in institutional care settings and on characteristics such as their race/ethnic origin or sexual orientation, which has also been pointed out in the Equality data guidelines; whereas Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 (25) will significantly remedy the situation relating to household survey data on employment, data disaggregated by types of disability and data on country of origin (first and second generation), and envisages pilot studies on persons in institutions; whereas gaps will continue to persist and should be remedied;

M.

whereas only 50,6 % of PwD are in employment (48,3 % of women and 53,3 % of men) compared with 74,8 % of persons without disabilities (26); whereas PwD living in institutions or considered to be unable to work are excluded from these statistics (27); whereas these figures do not reveal the type, quality and conditions of employment, for example whether employment is provided in the open labour market, and if an employee status with the enjoyment of labour rights and the provision of a minimum wage is guaranteed; whereas PwD are a diverse group and are often subject to intersectional discrimination, the cumulative effects of which have a tangible impact on employment;

N.

whereas in certain Member States PwD are overwhelmingly employed in sheltered workshops; whereas such sheltered workshops should aim to serve inclusion, rehabilitation and transition to the open labour market as soon as possible; whereas sheltered workshops are often a segregated environment in which workers with disabilities do not have an employee status, labour rights, or a guaranteed minimum wage; whereas this clearly constitutes a violation of the UNCRPD; notes that in some Member States, sheltered workshops are currently used as a transition to the open labour market; whereas European level research into the characteristics and diversity of sheltered workshops, sometimes also termed sheltered employment, could help to identify best practice, improve the debate and ensure compliance with EU legislation and the UNCRPD; whereas inclusive models of supported employment may, if rights-based and recognised as employment, respect the rights of PwD and serve inclusion and transition into the open labour market;

O.

whereas the rate of unemployment of PwD (17,1 %) is almost twice that of the general population (10,2 %) (28), and the unemployment of PwD lasts longer than that of the persons without disabilities, regardless of qualifications;

P.

whereas the rate of unemployment is highest among young PwD (those aged between 16 and 24), at 24,9 % compared to 16,6 % in the general population; whereas this difference is inextricably linked to education opportunities;

Q.

whereas women with disabilities, who constitute 16 % of the total population of women and 60 % of the overall population of PwD in the EU, continue to face multiple and intersectional discrimination in all areas of life; whereas the economic inactivity rate among women with disabilities is over two thirds higher than that of the total population of women of working age (16-64 years); whereas only 20,7 % of women with disabilities are in full time employment, compared to 28,6 % of men with disabilities;

R.

whereas women mostly have the responsibility for taking care of the household, and account for the large majority of caregivers for persons with disabilities; whereas single mothers who look after children with disabilities are at serious risk of falling victim to poverty and social exclusion; whereas age discrimination affects all age groups, together with possible stereotypes and barriers; whereas elderly women with disabilities are often the sole carers for family members with disabilities; whereas this has a direct effect on their vulnerability to poverty and social exclusion, as well as on their access to jobs and their professional development, and may negatively affect their employment conditions;

S.

whereas there are more than 30 million blind and partially-sighted persons in wider Europe; whereas the average unemployment rate among them is 75 % — and even higher among women — leading to their social exclusion and poverty (29); whereas there are approximately one million deaf sign language users in the EU and 51 million hard-of-hearing people, many of whom are also sign language users whose unemployment is underreported and inadequately researched; whereas there are approximately seven million people with intellectual disabilities in the EU whose employment level is considerably lower than the average (30); whereas estimates indicate that across Europe, only around 10 % of persons on the autism spectrum are employed, mostly in part-time and low-paid jobs, in under-qualified positions or in sheltered settings (31);

T.

whereas among PwD, 29,5 % of women and 27,5 % of men are at risk of poverty and social exclusion in the EU compared to 22,4 % of the population as a whole; whereas PwD are more likely to face in-work poverty than those without disabilities (11 % as opposed to 9,1 %) due to the extra costs of their disability, such as healthcare, logistical and human support, their loss of disability entitlements once in work and the fact that they earn less than their colleagues in an equivalent role and are less likely to get a promotion (32); whereas the risk of poverty is emphasised for those declaring more severe levels of disability;

U.

whereas a disproportionate number of PwD are homeless and PwD run an increased risk of becoming homeless; whereas homeless people may develop a disability, such as amputated limbs, due to the risks arising from their living conditions;

V.

whereas, due to the cumulative effects of intersectional discrimination, Roma PwD are assumed to face more barriers, experience higher levels of unemployment, more severe poverty and less access to education and services than their peers without disabilities (33);

W.

whereas LGBTI PwD face added obstacles to employment, with 16 % reporting having been denied jobs or promotions because of their identity, compared with 10 % of LGBTI staff in general; whereas one in four LGBTI PwD have been subjected to derogatory remarks, bullying and abuse and were outed without consent (34);

X.

whereas a recent EU-wide survey of PwD shows that 96 % find that access to the open labour market is inadequate or that it requires improvement, while only 10 % find that the existing legislation is adequate to protect PwD against discrimination in the open labour market, and 18 % were not aware of the existence of legislation in their country which would protect them against discrimination (35);

Y.

whereas this data demonstrates that the EU Disability Strategy 2010-2020 did not place enough emphasis on employment of PwD and the intersectional discrimination they face;

Z.

whereas harassment in the workplace, including sexual harassment and retaliation for speaking up, hinders access to work and employment, job retention and equal career paths, in particular for women with disabilities;

AA.

whereas disadvantage, exclusion and discrimination against PwD in the labour market are not a standalone challenge but are interrelated with the lack of inclusive education, including in early childhood; lifelong learning, including vocational training; the barriers, segregation and discrimination present in the fields of housing and health; and the lack of accessibility of transport and other services and products; whereas a complex approach and comprehensive measures are therefore needed to remedy the situation;

AB.

whereas measures to promote mental well-being and prevent mental ill-health and psychosocial disabilities in the workplace are crucial;

AC.

whereas the accessibility of workplaces, transport and support services, in particular personal assistance, and society at large is essential for PwD to effectively enjoy their right to independent living and their right to work; whereas the Member States should also support the creation of a barrier-free built environment; whereas once transposed, Directive (EU) 2019/882 on the accessibility requirements for products and services will provide a significant improvement for a barrier-free society, and whereas its transposition therefore needs to be timely and closely monitored;

AD.

whereas removing benefits as soon as PwD commence paid work is a high-risk, high-stress policy, a major obstacle to access to work, and socially unjust because it does not factor in the higher costs of living with a disability;

AE.

whereas the different definitions of disability, the diversity of disability assessment and the various and often unclear classification methods applied across Member States, as well as the lack of mutual recognition of disability status, hinder freedom of movement within the EU for PwD;

AF.

whereas awareness raising is essential to enable employers and workers to act and react adequately, on the basis of knowledge of their obligations and rights in the area of non-discrimination;

AG.

whereas new technologies, notably AI systems, have the potential to develop efficient, accessible and non-discriminatory hiring processes, but non-inclusive technological developments could represent a risk of adding new barriers and forms of discrimination; whereas Article 9 of the UNCRPD requires accessible information as well as access to communication technologies and systems on an equal basis with others;

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

calls on the Member States to support companies that offer targeted positive action measures to tackle multiple disadvantage; calls on the Member States to exchange best practices in order to identify and apply a targeted mix of measures to support equal employment of PwD;

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.