On Monday, EU member states agreed on an EU-wide disability card and an EU parking card for disabled people. This means that in future people with disabilities will be able to claim corresponding benefits in every Member State.
All EU citizens with disabilities should be able to benefit from special conditions and preferential treatment across the EU, according to a statement from the Council in Brussels. Consider, for example, discounted tickets, assistance or access to reserved parking spaces.
In the future, EU countries must allow these special treatments to all holders of the EU disability card for a period of up to three months. Furthermore, states are free to decide whether to grant special conditions to all EU citizens or only to holders of a national disability card. The EU-wide identity card will then be available in both physical and digital form; The parking card necessarily only has to be in physical form, but countries may voluntarily offer a digital form.
Rauch hopes for speedy implementation
Minister of Social Affairs Johannes Rauch (Greens), who took part in the ministerial meeting for Austria, expressed the hope in the Council that the corresponding directive can be adopted under the Belgian Presidency of the Council – i.e. in the first half of 2024 rounded. But this requires the European Parliament to take a position on the project before negotiations between the Council and Parliament can take place.
“Even if the social support services did not reach the final compromise text of the Council working group, we can certainly be satisfied with the result,” said Klaus Widl, President of the Austrian Council for the Disabled, commenting on today’s decision. press release. Once there is an agreement between the Council and Parliament, Austria must transpose the directive into national law “as quickly as possible”.
Source: Krone
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