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Millions of people in Europe are still excluded from using basic products and services that are taken for granted for other people, because they are not accessible. They face barriers in withdrawing money from an ATM, entering a bank, a school, a university or any public building, using the metro, issuing a ticket, buying something online etc. People with intellectual disabilities often face obstacles when travelling, using e-mail programmes or being provided with information that is not easy-to-read.
The European Parliament is currently discussing the European Commission’s proposal for the European Accessibility Act which could make several products and services in the European Union accessible for all citizens including 80 million persons with disabilities and 190 million people aged 50 and older. The recently published draft report of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO Committee), which is the responsible Committee for the European Accessibility Act in the European Parliament, is very worrying. The Committee’s report is dramatically watering down the proposal for the Act to such an extent that it will fail to bring a real positive change in the lives of EU citizens.
The IMCO Committee will discuss the Act on 6 March in the European Parliament in Brussels. On the same day at 12.00, Inclusion Europe will join other organisations fighting for disability and social rights for a demonstration in front of the European Parliament. We demand a strong and ambitious European Accessibility Act!
Inclusion Europe is calling upon its member organisations to support the protest by communicating it in their respective member countries. Please make sure to follow us on Facebook and specifically Twitter to get the latest updates before and during the demonstration. The hashtag to be used is #AccessibilityAct.
The Accessibility Act impacts on people with an intellectual disability all over Europe. We need to make sure the impact is real.
Read here our press releases announcing the event and summarising the demands.[:]
