PRESS RELEASE
Galway, 30 April 2013
A Major Test for the European Union – stop spending
taxpayers’ money to Institutionalise EU citizens.
There is a clamour around Europe to ensure that increasingly scarce
European monies are not spent on institutionalizing its citizens but are used
instead to help States to promote a philosophy of living independently and
being included in the community. The issue is urgent as negotiations to
agree new Regulations governing the EU Structural Funds are in their final
stages. These funds are worth several billion Euros. Advocates are not
calling for more money – simply for an end to spending the available monies
on institutions and a commitment of available resources to help the process of
community living.
To highlight the issue and press claims for a change in the Funds, a broad
spectrum of European interest groups covering both the disabled and the
elderly as well as national and international policy makers will be brought
together at a major conference organized by the Centre for Disability Law &
Policy at NUI Galway on Friday 3rd of May. The event is organized ‘in
association with the Irish Presidency of the European Council’ with the
support of European Foundation Centre (EFC), Belgium and Fundación
ONCE, Spain. The Director of the Centre, Professor Gerard Quinn says:
“Ireland has taken initial positive steps in the right direction with the ‘Ending
Congregated Settings’ report and the National Positive Ageing Strategy. We
have to make sure that our taxpayers’ money is not being used via the
Structural Funds to achieve the opposite effect elsewhere in Europe.”
There is much at stake. The European Commission has proposed stringent
new Regulations that would explicitly forbid the negative use of the funds and
ensure that the Funds would play a significant role in helping States move
toward community living models. However, these proposals were effectively
blocked by the Council in 2012. The shape of the new Regulations is now
being decided by a trialogue process of negotiations between the European
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Commission, the Council and the European Parliament. These negotiations
are taking place largely behind closed doors. Professor Quinn adds: “Both
disabled citizens and older citizens have a common cause here. We owe it to
our fellow disabled and older EU citizens across Europe to end bad practices
and help generate real added-value put of diminishing EU funds. It is very
important that your voice is heard loud and clear.”
The rejection of the conditionalities proposed by the European Commission
for accessing and using the funds has particular legal implications as it
probably exposes the EU to legal liability under the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This is the first UN
human rights treaty to be ratified by the EU as such. Quinn adds: “What are
our citizens to think if the EU ratifies such a major international instrument and
then keeps it at arms length where it matters most. We certainly can’t preach
to others if we fail to ensure basic respect for the convention in how major EU
financial instruments are crafted. The conditions proposed by the Commission
or something with the same effect have to be restored to the Regulations to
keep faith with Europe’s 80 million persons with disabilities.”
The keynote address at the conference will be delivered by Professor Jerome
Bickenbach on the unity of purpose between the disabled and older European
citizens on community living and ageing in pace. It will be addressed by the
European Commission (DG Justice and DG Regio), the UN Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights, The EU Fundamental Rights Agency and
high level representatives for European civil society (European Disability
Forum) and Age Platform Europe. European level service providers will also
speak (European Association of Service Providers) as well as many other
interested groups such as the European Network on Independent Living, the
Open Society Foundations and academics and others involved in the policy
debates. It will be opened by Minister of State Kathleen Lynch T.D. who
responsibilities both for older people and people with disabilities. One of the
sessions explaining the Funds will be chaired by Minister of State Brian Hayes
T.D. The positive potential of employment to strengthen community living will
also be reflected on throughout the conference.
Jan Jařab, Regional Representative for Europe of the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who will be a participant in the
conference, stated that “the Office of the High Commissioner is committed to
the promotion of community living and inclusion in society for older persons as
well as for children in need of alternative care and persons with disabilities.”
Quinn adds: “We are proud of where Ireland has come from and its clear
aspirations for the future. But the rights we take for granted should not be
confined to us. Lets be both smart and ethical in how the EU spends our
money. This conference will explore the need for these conditions and
whether or how they can be achieved as the drafting of the new Regulations
reach a climax in early Summer 2013.”
All are welcome and no prior knowledge of the Structural Funds is assumed
or required.
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More information about the Conference – ‘Community Living for All’ - A
Conference on the Future Role of the European Union Structural Funds
to Advance Community Living for Older People and People with
Disabilities which takes place in NUI Galway on the 3rd of May is available
here: http://www.nuigalway.ie/cdlp/events/community_living_for_all.html and
individuals can register at www.conference.ie.
For further information, please contact Suzanne Doyle at the Centre for
Disability Law and Policy, National University of Ireland, Galway:
Email: suzanne.doyle@nuigalway.ie
Phone: +353 (0)91 49 4273
Fax: +353 (0)91 49 5569
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