More disabled than others : the employment of disabled people within the European Community an analysis of existing measures and proposals for the development of an EC policy

Abstract

To be a disabled citizen of the European Community at the present time means to be disadvantaged. Naturally the degree of that disadvantage varies between individuals, even between individuals with similar impairments, but its discriminatory nature does not. The disadvantage stems primarily from the institutionalised forms of discrimination which people with impairments are forced to confront every day of their lives. These involve physical (architectural) barriers, assumptions of inferiority, inflexible structures and organisations, and the very conception of "normality”. This discrimination touches every aspect of life - education, relationships, social activities, housing and employment, and marginalises some ten per cent of the Community’s population, i.e. no less than 33 million people. Up until now the adoption and implementation of measures to improve the quality of life available to disabled people and to promote their integration has been regarded as largely the prerogative of Member States. This approach can no longer be regarded as satisfactory in a period when the Community is increasingly coming to exert an influence over many of the areas which directly affect or influence the life of its disabled citizens: the establishment of the internal market, harmonisation of standards and goods, free movement of persons, vocational training and the mutual recognition of diplomas to mention but a few. It is the argument of this thesis that Community intervention, which respects the principle of subsidiarity, is now called for in certain fields of disability policy. The most obvious area for such intervention, given the primarily economic nature of the original EEC Treaty and much of the subsequent Community legislation, is the employment of disabled people - although it must be recognised that the desired economic integration cannot occur without complementary measures to promote social integration. The focus of this thesis shall therefore be the need, scope and possible content of a European Community policy to promote the employment of people with disabilities.