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Freedom Drive Demands

​ENIL is a Europe-wide network of disabled people. For us, Independent Living is a process of empowerment and emancipation, enabling equal opportunities, rights and full participation in all aspects of society. We advocate for the complete removal of all barriers restricting the inclusion of disabled people in the community. 

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One of our main goals is the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in the European Union. The UN CRPD promotes full participation, independent living and deinstitutionalisation. The European Union and all 27 Member States ratified the UNCRPD. In the EU, the Convention entered into force in January 2011, and yet independent living is still not a reality for all. 

 

Given that a new European Parliament has been elected and that a new European Commission will come into office, we seek new commitments to end all types of segregation and realise Independent Living for all. 

 

When presenting our demands, it is imperative to highlight the intersectional nature of the barriers faced by disabled people. Disabled women and girls, LGBTQIA+ disabled people, refugees or migrants, or those who belong to an ethnic minority are more severely affected by discrimination or violence and have an even harder time accessing support. Policy solutions must always address the needs of all disabled people, including those belonging to the most disadvantaged societal groups. Support must be ensured regardless of their type of impairment or intersectional identity. 

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The European Union has trade agreements with most countries in the world and is together with all its Member States the largest donor of development aid worldwide. The EU has an obligation to use its position to promote human rights and the rights of disabled people globally. 

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For this Freedom Drive 2024, ENIL has the following demands for the European Union, its Member States and other European countries: 

 

Stop public funding for institutions of any size and segregating services. Reform all legislation on EU funds and on state aid to ensure financial resources go into community-based services. ​

 

Guarantee the right to Independent Living by setting standards for access to community-based and person-centred services, in compliance with the CRPD. Require adoption of strategies for the expansion of community based and person-centred services in the community and for deinstitutionalisation in all the Member States and through global action.

 

Recognise supported decision making in cross-border situations. Do so by subjecting the proposed regulation on the protection of vulnerable adults to a complete overhaul, replacing all paragraphs on the deprivation of legal capacity.

 

Create social equality between disabled and non-disabled people and in society in general and combat social exclusion. To that end, ensure equal access to employment, healthcare, social protection, education, all goods and services and housing in the community.

 

Ensure that the implementation of the UN CRPD is coordinated across all policy areas. The EU requires the implementation of focal points across policy areas, the establishment of a proper interinstitutional coordination mechanism and a civil society mechanism. 

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The full version of the Freedom Drive demands is available here.

What can you do with the Freedom Drive demands? 

  • The Freedom Drive is bringing together an exciting programme which will offer you many opportunities to meet decision makers, for example Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), officials of the European Commission, representatives of Member State governments or permanent representations of countries outside the European Union.

  • Since you are already in Brussels, you have an excellent opportunity to set up meetings with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from your own country between programme items. You could talk to them about our Freedom Drive Demands and also about problems and policy recommendations from your national context. Make sure to tell them what ENIL is.

  • To help you set up a meeting, we have prepared some support materials. First, you will find a list of MEPs from the Committee of Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL Committee). When requesting meetings, prioritise those MEPs, because they are the most important for our work. Send the MEPs you would like to meet with an e-mail. Wait for two to three days and then call their offices to inquire. 

  • When contacting MEPs from the EMPL Committee, you can put ENIL's Policy Coordinator Florian in cc if you want. You could also contact him afterwards to give some feedback on how the meeting went. This is the link to a database which contains all MEPs who currently have a seat in the European Parliament. 

  • Our support materials also contain a letter template which you can use to contact MEPs. You can adjust it, so it fits your purpose. 

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