A new report from the European Commission, the European Semester 2025 - Mainstreaming Disability Equality, was published on 19 March 2026.

The European Semester is an annual process that aims to coordinate EU's economic and social policies. With regard to disability, the Semester process should ensure that the equality of people with disabilities is fully integrated in all its aspects.

This new report provides an overview of the key developments and ongoing challenges in mainstreaming disability equality across the EU, building on the European Semester cycle 2025.  It sets the analytical scene for the next Semester cycle, supporting efforts to ensure that disability equality is consistently integrated into EU economic and social governance.

Key conclusions of the report

• Increased mainstreaming: In the last European Semester cycle, in particular in the Joint Employment Report, the Country Reports and the Country-Specific Recommendations, the integration of disability across policies and recommendations has remained visible and has, in some areas, been further strengthened.
• Disability employment gap indicator: The disability employment gap indicator included in the Social Scoreboard continues to play an important role in tracking labour market outcomes, highlighting that people with disabilities still face significant barriers to employment and are more likely to be economically inactive.
• Disability in Country Reports and the Country-Specific Recommendations: Disability is now more systematically included in country-level analysis, particularly in relation to employment and social inclusion, but also in areas such as education, early childhood education and care, long-term care and housing. This points to a growing recognition of disability as a cross-cutting policy issue.
• Disability and EU funding instruments: EU funding instruments continue to support a wide range of initiatives from community-based care and inclusive education to employment and accessibility measures. At the same time, the report highlights ongoing implementation challenges, including cases where funding may still support institutional or segregated settings, underlining the need for stronger safeguards and monitoring.

The report also provides valuable country-level insights that can be used to support advocacy efforts at national and EU levels. Despite some progress, significant gaps remain between people with and without disabilities across employment, education and poverty indicators, particularly for women, young people and older people with disabilities. These findings can help inform discussions on how to strengthen policies and investments to advance inclusion across Europe.

For more information, check our EASPD report: Summary of 2025 European Semester Reports and Country-specific Recommendations related to Social Policy.