The EESC calls for the scope of the Commission proposal for a European Disability Card to be expanded to cover longer stays for work or study, in order to deliver freedom of movement for people with disabilities in the EU.

The EESC has hailed the Commission proposal for a European Disability Card and a European Parking Card as the first step towards enabling people with disabilities to move freely around the EU.

"The proposal on the two Cards will affect more than 80 million Europeans with disabilities," said Ioannis Vardakastanis, rapporteur-general for the EESC opinion on The European Disability and Parking Cards, presented at the EESC plenary session on 14 December. "This is a very important step towards removing serious obstacles and ensuring that people with disabilities, both Europeans and third-country nationals legally resident in a Member State, can enjoy the fundamental principle on which the Union is founded: freedom of movement. Further policies will be built on this in the future."

However, the EESC has warned that the proposal falls short of removing some of the most significant barriers to the free movement of Europeans with disabilities, namely the lack of portability of disability-related benefits when they relocate to another EU country for work or study. In its own-initiative opinion, the EESC calls for the scope of the proposal to be expanded so that a person with a disability who has relocated can use the cards, on a temporary basis, to continue receiving benefits linked to social policies or national social security systems.

Currently, this is not the case. When someone moves from one Member State to another, they lose their right to any disability-related benefits when they cross the border, until such time as their disability is reassessed in the new Member State.

This assessment process can take over a year, and during the transition period the person is left without any recognition or support. "We are asking for the scope to be expanded to ensure that there will be no legal vacuum and no gap during this period in the new country. This will enable people with disabilities to live with dignity from the outset," said Mr Vardakastanis. (ll)