Freeze on PIP disability benefit likely to be dropped after Labour backlash
The planned freeze prompted anger among MPs when it was leaked โ and is now likely to be dropped, two people with knowledge of the proposals tell POLITICO.
Disability
Why sh*t gets real for Keir Starmer in June
A flurry of crucial policy reviews on areas that could define the U.K. prime minister’s government are coming due. POLITICO has you covered.
โNot why I joined the party:โ Keir Starmerโs MPs agonize about welfare cuts
A minority of MPs in the ruling Labour Party are feeling mutinous โ but there’s a sharp divide among its newest members.
EU failing to uphold UN convention on disability rights, says NGO
From voting to forced treatment, the EU does not meet the UN’s standards of disability rights, said the NGO.
EU can’t plug USAID funding gap including in Ukraine, Commission says
โThe EU cannot fill this gap left by others,โย the European Commission told Euronews as disability NGOs seek emergency aid from Brussels after US President Donald Trump blocked international development projects.
USAID cuts harm European disability groups, say NGOs
Disabled people in Ukraine, Albania, Georgia and more are at risk due to the US freezing their foreign aid.
POLITICOโs 2024 Backhanded Awards
There has never been a more deserving set of “winners.”
Press release – European Parliament spotlights disability rights
Taking place from 2-6 December, Disability Rights Week will advocate for the rights of people with disabilities, and for their voices to be heard.Committee on Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentCommittee on Culture and EducationCommittee on Employment an…
Who were the biggest dunces? Final grades for von der Leyenโs first Commission
Whoโs at the top of the class and who flunked? Here are POLITICO’s grades for each 2019-2024 European commissioner.
Overcoming obstacles to equality: the battle for disability rights in the EU
Overcoming obstacles to equality: the battle for disability rights in the EU
Ukrainian prosecutor general resigns amid corruption scandals
Judges and other civil servants are said to have improperly obtained disability certificates, enabling them to earn extra income and, potentially, avoid conscription.
Ukraineโs prosecutor general resigns amid draft-dodging scandal
Andriy Kostin’s office has recently been rocked by allegations that dozens of local officials, including prosecutors, allegedly misused their positions to obtain disability status.
Ukraineโs top prosecutor falls on sword amid fake disabilities scam
Dozens of prosecutors reportedly obtained disability certificates from a corrupt medical commission, allowing them to potentially evade the draft and to qualify for larger state pensions.
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin review โ moving tale of disabled gamerโs digital double life
Using World of Warcraft-style animation, this documentary tells the story of Mats Steen, a boy with muscular dystrophy whose online popularity was only revealed after his deathItโs probably just an accident of scheduling, but this deeply affecting docu…
G7 and EU members sign on new charter for disability rights
โThe realisation of human rights of persons with disabilities is our top priority,โ said the G7.
G7 members adopt new disability rights commitments
G7 members adopt new disability rights commitments
People living with disabilities in the EU: The battle for inclusion
One in four adults in the EU have a disability, according to Eurostat. That’s more than 100 million people. And while this summer’s Paralympics no doubt drew attention to the issue in a visible way, the daily struggles of so many people remain largely…
Paris gives Paralympics Games a send-off for the ages
Stade de France transformed into huge electronica dance party with worldโs elite para athletes doing farewell congaWith an explosion of fireworks, laser beams, breakdance and a thumping set by the giants of French electronica, France bid goodbye to the…
โIncredible energyโ: how Paris crowds lifted French paralympians to medal glory
Healthy ticket sales, record TV ratings โ a nation once indifferent to parasport is now cheering its athletes on to new levels of successWhen French athlete Aurรฉlie Aubertโs sharp strategy and ice-cool precision won her a boccia gold at the Paris Paral…
Ryadh Sallem: โWhen you put sport and disability together, there is a spark, an electricityโ
Franceโs best-loved Paralympian on his extraordinary journey, how sport saved his life and a โrendezvous with destinyโ in ParisWhen the French wheelchair rugby team play their first match on Thursday, all eyes will be on Ryadh Sallem, whose extraordina…
โThis is also about love!โ: the Ukrainian disability campaigner on the brink of reality TV stardom
Amputee war hero Oleksandr Budko will use his appearance as a contestant on The Bachelor to fight stigma โ and hopefully find a partnerOleksandr Budko doesnโt know exactly how he was wounded. Resting near the frontline with his mortar-fire support unit…
Labourโs new tribes: 7 gangs to watch in the class of 2024
Hundreds of the party’s brand-new MPs are finding their feet in the British parliament following its landslide election victory.
Why a disillusioned, angry Britain voted for change
A tour of Britain’s provincial towns reveals a restless nation with no love for its political class.
Letter from Ukraine: How will my mom survive if Iโm drafted?
Itโs undocumented โ or under-documented โ special needs folks like my mom whose lives are at risk because of Ukraineโs new turbocharged mobilization law.
โMax is my eyesโ: Paralympian says post-Brexit rules stop him flying with his guide dog
Mar Gunnarsson, swimmer and Manchester student who is due to compete at the Paris Games, says his career is at riskA Paralympic swimmer due to compete in this summerโs Games has said his career is at risk after a post-Brexit policy change barred him fr…
Nobody even noticed the Toriesโ biggest legacy
Five years ago this week, in the teeth of the Brexit wars, an outgoing Tory prime minister was looking for a legacy. Theresa May settled on net zero โand now itโs on Labour to keep that target alive.
Advancing Gender Equality: The EU`s Landmark Directive 2024/1385 on Violence Against Women
Dr. Ceren Kasฤฑm, Postdoctoral
Research and Teaching Fellow, University of Hildesheim, Germany
Photo credit: MesserWoland, via Wikimedia Commons
INTRODUCTION
The first-ever binding European
Union (EU) legal instrument to…
Eurostar reverses wheelchair policy that left user stranded, after Observer campaign
Passengers were left abandoned and humiliated after operator banned staff from providing assistanceEurostar has reversed a new accessibility policy that left a wheelchair user stranded and has retrained its London staff following pressure from the Obse…
The man on a mission to open up space to disability
John McFall is studying whether it’s possible for someone with a physical disability to go to space.
The man on a mission to open up space to disability
John McFall is studying whether it’s possible for someone with a physical disability to go to space.
Soviet-era attitudes to disability hinder Ukrainian fightersโ recovery
Injured soldiers face social stigma โฆ and their numbers have soared.
Press release – Parliament adopts EU-wide Disability and Parking Cards
MEPs gave their final green light to the EU Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities.Committee on Employment and Social AffairsCommittee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Source : ยฉ European Union, 2024 – EP
A moment that changed me: I was paralysed on a climb. Then I made the 100-mile journey back to myself
Seven years after a terrible fall, I teamed up with two other disabled sportsmen to scale Icelandโs highest peak. With each drive of my poles into the snow, I came closer to the man Iโd once beenThe view from the top was breathtaking. It was 2023 and I…
Benediktsson to return as Iceland PM
New-old leader promises political stability and a focus on energy, immigration and inflation.
How Scotlandโs controversial hate crime law triggered JK Rowling, Joe Rogan and Elon Musk
A legal shake-up aimed at protecting minorities angers high-profile opponents on freedom of speech grounds.
Ukraine military draft age lowered to boost fighting force
Volodymyr Zelenskiy signs bills lowering age for combat duty from 27 to 25 and requiring those given disability waivers to undergo a fresh assessmentSee all our Ukraine war coveragePresident Volodymyr Zelenskiy has signed a bill to lower the mobilisati…
EU Disability Card goes some way to improving accessibility across the bloc
While broadly welcomed for harmonising accessibility measures across the bloc, the agreement on the EU’s first bloc-wide Disability Card is only a first step in securing true freedom of movement within EU countries for people with disabilities, an expe…
Press release – EU Disability and Parking cards: Parliament and Council reach provisional deal
Negotiators from Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement on the EU Disability Card and the EU Parking Card for persons with disabilities.Committee on Employment and Social Affairs Source : ยฉ European Union, 2024 – EP
First European disability card coming, slowly
Lawmakers struck a deal on an EU-wide standardised disability card which will allow people with disabilities to enjoy the same benefits and facilities in public and private services throughout Europe โ but it will not come into effect within three and …
Press release – Parliament ready for talks on an EU-wide Disability Card
Parliament today adopted its mandate for negotiations with the Council on the EU disability card and the parking card for persons with disabilities.Committee on Employment and Social Affairs Source : ยฉ European Union, 2024 – EP
MEPs demand fewer barriers for disabled people moving in the EU
MEPs have proposed a free disability card, but they also want to go further than the Commission’s original proposal, which focused on short-term stays rather than living situations, creating some financial barriers to the right to free movement.
EU Parliament endorses new bloc-wide Disability Card
EU lawmakers agreed on Thursday (11 January) on their position for the first EU-wide Disability Card that aims to guarantee a minimum standard of support for persons with disabilities across Europe.ย
Press release – An EU Disability Card to support persons with disabilitiesโ right to free movement
The new rules would make it easier for persons with disabilities to travel in the EU by ensuring access to special conditions, including parking, in all member states.Committee on Employment and Social Affairs Source : ยฉ European Union, 2024 – EP
Mar Galcerรกn makes history as Spainโs first parliamentarian with Downโs syndrome
After being elected to Valenciaโs regional assembly, Galcerรกn says she wants to be seen as a person, not for her disabilityFor decades she battled to ensure that people with intellectual disabilities were part of the conversation. The extent of the pro…
The New EU Asylum Laws, part 3: the Resettlement Regulation
Professor Steve Peers,
Royal Holloway University of London*
Photo credit: Voice of
America, via Wikimedia
Commons *Sentences with an asterisk have been updated since the original post in light of later developments. Most recent update: 14 May …
The New EU Asylum Laws, part 1: the Qualification Regulation
Professor Steve Peers,
Royal Holloway University of London*
Photo credit: Ggia, via Wikimedia
Commons
*sentences with an asterisk have been corrected or updated since the original publication of this post. Most recently updated 14 May 2024.&n…
Sunak rebuked by UKโs statistics watchdog for making misleading claim about government debt โ as it happened
The prime minister has been facing questions on his governmentโs performance from senior MPs on the Commons liaison committeeSocial care leaders felt โblindsidedโ by recently announced changes to visa rules banning care workers from bringing their fami…
Ireland to vote on valuing women outside โthe homeโ
Twin referendums will modernize Ireland’s conservative Catholic constitution to remove sexist language on women as housewives, and to recognize unmarried couples as families.
Ukrainian reconstruction efforts lack commitment to accessibility
The needs of people with disabilities have been largely neglected in Ukraine, even though their number has greatly increased during the Russian invasion, and efforts to reconstruct the country should address this, European disability rights activists t…
Gove rejects suggestion that disabled people not prioritised for support during pandemic โ as it happened
Michael Gove asked about Boris Johnson suggestion package to protect people with disabilities should be prepared โin slower timeโ. This live blog is closedGove breaks away from the line of questioning to issue an apology.I want to take this opportunity…
โI had my chance to die โ but I made my choiceโ: meet the young Ukrainian soldier fighting for amputee visibility
Daniil Melnyk is one of up to 50,000 Ukrainians who have lost limbs during the Russian invasion. With photographer Marta Syrko, he is sharing his story to battle stigma around disabilityWe have all met a young man like Daniil Melnyk, this open-faced, s…