Proposed Anti-Discrimination Directive
After much lobbying from the disability sector, including the 1 Million for Disability Campaign, the European Commission has proposed an anti-discrimination directive. 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.
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have had the opportunity to suggest amendments and vote on the proposal in Committee in the last seven months. Sense has been lobbying MEPs in coalition with RNIB, RNID, Guide Dogs for the Blind, and Leonard Cheshire Disability, to try and ensure that the proposal is strengthened.
For more information on this, please go to the europa website.
Telecommunications Directive
The European Commission has recently reviewed the group of directives that regulate telecommunications in the European Union. The proposals made by the Commission are now being examined by the European Council and the European Parliament. Sense has been working in coalition with RNIB and RNID to ensure that telecommunications services and the next generation of telecommunications equipment are accessible to deafblind people. This includes discussions about services such as emergency telephone numbers and publicly available telephones.
For more information on this, please go to the europa website.
