Living with a disability in Europe today is still all too often a journey littered with obstacles and discrimination. The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games have put the issue back on the agenda. But the task ahead is enormous.
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00:00You have to be a top athlete to overcome Amsterdam in a wheelchair.
00:30Many initiatives have been put in place to guarantee the rights of disabled people and yet the UN has just pinned the country down for the many inequalities and shortcomings that still exist in terms of inclusion, as is the case everywhere else in Europe.
00:44Welcome to European Stories.
00:46In the whole of the European Union, 101 million adults have a form of disability.
00:55That's more than a quarter of the European population.
00:59More than half of them claim to be the subject of abuse, injustice or discrimination.
01:05Only half of disabled people have a job, against three people without a disability out of four.
01:14The school dropout rate is twice as high.
01:18One third of disabled people are exposed to the risk of poverty or social exclusion.
01:25Even though the policies aimed at improving the daily lives of disabled people are mostly based on the national competence of the states, the European Union also works in this direction.
01:38Several European directives and regulations aim to guarantee their rights in the fields of transport, employment or access to products and services, notably digital.
01:48A new European handicap card offering specific rights, as well as a preferential parking card, must be implemented throughout the Union by 2028.
02:01Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, has more equipment for disabled people than many big cities in Europe, but everyday life is plagued by abuse.
02:19Christian van der Kloster has been paralyzed from the lower limbs since 2001 following a snowboarding accident.
02:28He has also become a multi-medal champion in Paralympic skiing.
02:35He also needs a good shape and a good morale to travel in the city.
02:57He has been paralyzed from the lower limbs since 2001 following a snowboarding accident.
03:04It can be very challenging to roll around, like going up all these bridges is pretty hard work.
03:10I have my morning coffee now, and like most people I have to go to the toilet, but the thing is I can't go to the toilet in here, that's also part of my life.
03:32I can't blame this man for having his restaurant in this type of building.
03:38There's definitely a need of more accessibility, I'm in for that. The thing is, how do we reach that?
03:47We have to be realistic as well, can we change all these old buildings, these bridges, make them flat so everybody can go in there, it's undoable.
03:55We have to look also for different solutions, we can adapt the world, but I think every now and then the people should adapt as well.
04:04Since he left the competition a few years ago, Christian devotes his time to the activities he has created after his accident.
04:15The goal is to de-stigmatize the disability, but above all, to teach disabled people how to overcome the obstacles they face.
04:24He regularly organizes training sessions with his team.
04:30We as former Paralympians use the experience we have in moving our borders in sports, we bring that back to the people here.
04:38You see during the training that these people grow and get more confidence in their own capabilities.
04:47It's an open-mindedness, you taught me things I never thought I would be able to do.
04:52I certainly learned a lot today in terms of what is possible.
05:00I asked Christian what he expected from the European Union to improve the daily lives of disabled people.
05:22We get more the human aspect back in society.
05:30We make a lot of rules, sometimes they are helpful, but I see in my work that what I do is very effective and we work with as less rules as possible.
05:40So see what you can do with less rules in Europe and more human facing.
05:46Signatories of the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People, the European Union has been introducing policies in this area for more than 20 years.
05:59But a lot remains to be done.
06:01I asked the President of the European Disabled Forum, who collaborates with the Commission and the European Parliament on inclusion issues, what needs to be improved.
06:16Let's start with the freedom of movement.
06:20If I would decide to move from my country to another country, my disability is not recognized.
06:31It requires a new disability assessment in the new country to have the support that country provides.
06:38And the European Disability Card that provides for mutual recognition of disability across EU member states does not include social protection.
06:51We need a strong non-discrimination legislation.
06:56There is, from 2008, the Equal Treatment Directive, agreed by the Commission and the Parliament and blocked in the Council.
07:06If we want to have a union of equality, then this legislation needs to be agreed and implemented.
07:16And also, we need more budget for inclusion, for non-discrimination, for equal treatment, for combating poverty.
07:26With words, changes do not happen.
07:30Translating texts to reality still depends a lot on the will of member states,
07:35which we can also remember that nearly half a million citizens were not able to vote in the last European elections because of their disability.
07:59For more UN videos visit www.un.org