• Events, Inclusive Living

EU Accession: An opportunity for the transition towards human rights-based disability services

This webinar will address the opportunities for transitioning towards rights-based disability services during the EU accession process.

Albania, Turkey, Kosovo, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and North Macedonia are all candidate countries for European Union accession. As part of the pre-accession process, national structural reform programmes are carefully assessed within the framework of the EU Enlargement Package to ensure alignment with EU human rights standards, including the rights of persons with disabilities. Each year, the European Commission presents a report on the progress made by these candidate countries in deinstitutionalisation and the transition to community-based services.

The accession process presents a significant opportunity for disability services to collaborate with their national governments to advance deinstitutionalisation. Within this context, this webinar will:

  • Address the importance of upholding the rights of persons with disabilities in the context of the EU accession.
  • Present some reforms being undertaken by candidate countries and identify the remaining gaps in meeting EU standards.
  • Identify the opportunities and challenges faced by services in the pre-accession process.

Register here

Draft Agenda:

11h00

Welcome and Introduction

  • Freddy Junissen, EASPD
 

11h05

Presentation of EU accession process and the assessment of the countries’ reforms on human rights 

  • Laura Breta, DG NEAR
 

11h15

How the EU accession can advance the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

  • Phillipa Tucker, European Disability Forum 
 

11h30

Challenges and opportunities of the accession process – Focus on the DI process in Moldova

  • Ludmila Malcoci, Keystone Moldova
 

11h40

Q&A: How can services for persons with disabilities advocate for deinstitutionalisation in the negotiation process?

12h10

Closing remarks

  • Representative of EASPD