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3 December 2009
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Commissioner Diamantopoulou looks back on achievements of disability year 

Published: Sunday 15 August 2004    | Updated: Friday 10 November 2006   

Commissioner Diamantopoulou has warned: anti-discrimination legislation for people with disabilities must be implemented to keep the momentum of the European Year of People with Disabilities.

Background:


On the occasion of the European Day of People with Disabilities (3 December) the Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs Anna Diamantopoulou enumerated the achievements of the European Day of People with Disabilities.

 

Other related news:


One of the main objectives of the European Year was awareness raising. A campaign bus travelled across 105 European cities and events were organised all over Europe. The media and information campaign that accompanied the European Year resulted in more than 9,000 news articles.

At the same time, 11 EU Member States failed to keep to the 2 December 2003 transposition deadline for the directive that aims to ban discrimination on grounds of religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation.

 

Positions:


Commissioner Diamantopoulou has expressed disappointment over the failure of many Member States to respect the transposition deadline of the equality in employment directive. "The way people and governments respond to the needs and aspirations of people with disabilities is a yardstick of a society's progress. Member States must implement our comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation for people with disabilities now," said Commissioner Diamantopoulou.

Microsoft was one of the corporate partners in the European Year of People with Disabilities (EYPD). Microsoft equipped the awareness raising bus that travelled all over Europe with the latest assistive technologies. "Our history with accessibility and our involvement in the EYPD has reinforced our vision of an environment in which people of all abilities have the tools they need to work, learn and communicate in a connected world," said Senior Chairman of Microsoft EMEA Umberto Paolucci.

 

Next steps:


The European Year of People with Disabilities will end with a conference in Rome on 5-7 December. The organisers expect 500 participants to discuss the outcome of the European Year and seek commitments from the current and new Member States to ensure that disability issues remain high on the political agenda.

The achievements of this European Year will resonate in the Commission's multi-annual Action Plan (launched on 30 October) which aims for the better inclusion of disabled people in an enlarged EU economy and within society as a whole (see also

).

 

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