Proposed Anti-Discrimination Directive
After much lobbying from the disability sector, including the 1 Million for Disability Campaign, the European Commission proposed an anti-discrimination directive in 2008. It covers disability, age, religion and sexual orientation.
There is already a directive on race, one planned for gender in 2010, and an employment directive that covers all of these areas, so this is a directive that aims to ensure that all groups are equally protected.
The directive also aims to ensure that European legislation reflects the wording of the UN Convention on the rights of disabled people, including using the same definition of disability.
Sense lobbied MEPs in coalition with RNIB, RNID, Guide Dogs for the Blind, and Leonard Cheshire Disability, to ensure that the proposal was strengthened, and was successful in getting manufactured goods included.
The proposal is now being discussed by the European Council, which is made up of representatives of the 27 Member States.
Sense has also been lobbying the UK government, as part of the coalition.
For more information on this, please go to the European Union website.
eTelecommunications Directives
The European Commission has recently reviewed the group of directives that regulate telecommunications in the European Union. The proposals were adopted by the European Council and the European Parliament.
The UK Government is now implementing these changes at a national level and Sense is represented on the eAccessibility Forum which is advising the government on the proposed changes. This includes discussions about services such as emergency telephone numbers and publicly available telephones.
Find out more on the European Union website
Bus and Coach Regulation
The Bus and Coach Regulation was recently adopted by the European Parliament and the European Commission, covering all journeys of over 250km within the European Union.
Sense lobbied the European Parliament and the UK government on this regulation, in coalition with RNIB, Guide Dogs for the Blind and RNID, and was successful in ensuring that accessibility provisions for disabled people were included, such as mandatory training for drivers and terminal staff.
Please see the European Union website for more information (link to PDF document)
