Doc. 11233

4 April 2007

The European Year of Equal Opportunities for All – a just society for disabled persons

Motion for a resolution

presented by Mrs de Pourbaix-Lundin and others

With a goal to achieve a just society, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union establish the year 2007 as the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All (decision No 771/2006/EC of of 17 May 2006). According to the decision the participation in the European Year should be open to Member States, the acceding countries, the candidate countries benefiting from a pre-accession strategy, EFTA/EEA States, the countries of the western Balkans and the countries covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy etc. In other words, the project comprises the whole Council of Europe area.

To stimulate the debate at European and national levels in 2007 the European Commission intends to release a number of surveys and studies. One of the foreseen studies is about improving the understanding of issues related to the risks of various forms of discrimination in relation to disabled people with complex needs and/ or high dependency.

The Council of Europe and the European Union could and should work closely on this issue. The Parliamentary Assembly has during a number of years underlined the importance of promoting synergy and ensuring complementarity in our two organizations’ activities and at the same time emphasized the pre-eminent role of the Council of Europe in the European institutional architecture in matters concerning the promotion and protection of human rights.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe needs to be part of the European Year of Equal Opportunities for all. Particularly, the Assembly should be part of the debate at the European level. But it is even more important to follow-up the Year’s outcome. It is of high relevance to find out what difference the Year makes for disabled persons in the Council of Europe member states.

Signed (see overleaf)

Signed ¹:

de POURBAIX-LUNDIN, Marietta, Sweden, EPP/CD

ASPHJELL Jorodd, Norway, SOC

CHERNYSHENKO Igor, Russian Federation, EDG

DEBONO GRECH Joseph, Malta, SOC

FLYNN Paul, United Kingdom, SOC

KOLESNIKOV Victor, Russian Federation, EDG

KUCLER-DOLINAR Mojca, Slovenia, EPP/CD

LIBICKI, Jan Filip, Poland, EDG

LINDBLAD, Göran, Sweden, EPP/CD

MARQUET, Bernard, Monaco, ALDE

OHLSSON, Carina, Sweden, SOC

STANTCHEVA, Darinka, Bulgaria, ALDE

TOMASZEWSKA, Ewa, Poland, EDG

¹        SOC: Socialist Group

      EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party

      ALDE: Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe

      EDG: European Democratic Group

      UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

      NR: not registered in a group