A delegation of the European Disability Forum led by its President, Yannis Vardakastanis, met with President of the European Commission Barroso in Brussels on 31 May 2011. The outcomes of the meeting were successful.
The agenda of the meeting between EDF and the European Commission President was to discuss the next steps for disability in the EU, and the results of the meeting were promising.
Mr. Barroso endorses the State of the Union on Disability, and committed to ensuring the right enforcement of the UN Convention throughout the European Commission. Finally, the President promised to put pressure on national authorities to safeguard the rights of persons with disabilities during times of crisis.
Cuts in social expenditure are taking place across the EU, yet the Commission has vowed to remind Member States of their obligations towards the most vulnerable groups of society. Barruso stressed the need to combat the negative portrayal of disabled people that occurs in dire situations.
EDF wants to make sure 80 million persons with disabilities are not the first to pay for the crisis.
Read the whole article on the high level meeting with Barruso on the EDF webpage.
