The EU Disability Employment Package’s impact to the European deaf community
The European Commission recently released its Disability Employment Package. The Package is a set of guidelines and recommendations aimed at fostering the inclusion of persons with disabilities in fair and inclusive labour markets within the European Union and reducing the disability employment gap.
The Disability Employment Package is a flagship initiative of the EU Disability Rights Strategy 2021-2030. This Strategy is a roadmap to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in the EU. As a member of the Disability Platform, EUD actively contributed to the design of the Disability Rights Strategy and the Disability Employment Package.
The webinar served as an opportunity to review the Disability Employment Package and analyse its potential impact towards the European deaf community as well as how it aligns with Article 27 CRPD on Inclusive Employment.
Accordingly, EUD, in partnership with Siketek és Nagyothallók Országos Szövetsége (SINOSZ), the Hungarian Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, hosted a webinar to assess the Employment Package in terms of its efficacy at removing barriers encountered by deaf people within and accessing the EU labour market. The webinar also highlighted some key best practice examples of initiatives supporting deaf people in employment in Hungary, Belgium, and Finland.
