EU funds should support independent living, not institutions. The European Commission’s guidance helps ensure money is used for inclusion, like accessible housing and personal assistance. Now is the time to push for real change.
Use of EU money for independent living and inclusion
There is a lot that can and should be done for people with intellectual disabilities and their families with EU money: 1.2 trillion euros can contribute to more inclusion or better services*. This money should be used to help people with intellectual disabilities have a good life and to be included in the community.
This includes funding to support people leaving institutions, and funding for services needed to be included in the community.
But often, countries do not use EU money to support people with intellectual disabilities.
Countries often use EU funds for things that are not useful, and sometimes even harmful (for example, institutions).
It is important to keep asking countries to use EU money in the right way.
852 000 people with intellectual disabilities live in institutions
Inclusion Europe, 2024; Eurofund
The European Commission published a document explaining how EU money should be used by countries to support independent living and inclusion in the community.
The document is called Guidance on using EU Funds for independent living.
Everyone can use this document to ask their country to do good things for inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities and their families.
This is especially important now, when the new EU budget is being discussed. The EU and countries decide where EU money goes.
European Commission guidance
The guidance provides recommendations for the use of EU funds for deinstitutionalisation and to support independent living and inclusion in the community for people with disabilities.
It is for everyone using EU money, including countries, their local authorities, and organisations using EU Funds. It comes from the European Commission’s EU Strategy on the rights of people with disabilities.
This guidance is important because, despite regulations**, EU money is still used to fund institutions instead of being invested for independent living and inclusion in the community.
Key points
Using EU money as part of a national deinstitutionalisation strategy
The strategy should be prepared in consultation with people with disabilities.
The strategy should include:
- clear timeline for deinstitutionalisation
- analysis of investment gaps based on individual needs assessments and a mapping of existing infrastructure, services and workforce
- time-bound targets and indicators
- dedicated budget and resources, including for the elaboration and implementation of individual plans for the transition to, and for achieving, independent living
- clear governance
- quality control system, including complaint mechanisms available to persons with disabilities, their families or persons representing their interests
- monitoring tools to guide structural reforms and related investments
Using EU Funds to support deinstitutionalisation and independent living solutions, a person-centred approach and community-based support.
This guidance recommends improving investments in many areas, including:
- Housing: non-segregated, accessible, affordable, social housing
- Training on independent living: for public authorities, healthcare and social services, and for people with intellectual disabilities and their representative organisations and families.
- Community-based support and services: personal assistance, personal budget, home care, counselling services, respite care, person-centred support plans, and improve accessibility, affordability, quality and accountability of services.
- Overcoming all the barriers to independent living and inclusion: such as accessibility (particularly digital accessibility), inclusive education, employment in the open labour market and access to health care.
Use EU money in close consultation with people with disabilities
The Guidance recommends that people with disabilities and their representative organisations are involved in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of EU Funds programmes.
At the end of the guidance is a checklist to know if EU funds are used for independent living and inclusion in the community.
How to use the Guidance to advocate for rights and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities
Tell your national, regional, and local authorities and organisations using EU money about the guidance.
- National, regional, local authorities managing EU money. They can design funding programmes that support deinstitutionalisation and community-based support. You can find them here.
- Service providers, schools and others using EU money for services for people with intellectual disabilities. Their services and projects should support independent living and inclusion.
- For your members and staff. EU money can support activities in self-advocacy, deinstitutionalisation, community-support etc.
Tell them about what you want them to use EU money for, such as:
- Support for people to live independently and to be included.
- Deinstitutionalisation: To support people with intellectual disabilities who are segregated in institutions to leave and set up a new life included in the community.
- Self-advocacy meetings and activities.
- Trainings on disability rights, independent living and inclusion in the community.
- Reforms in legal capacity laws, and support to decision-making.
- Inclusive schools and education programs.
- Other things you think are important for inclusion.
We hope you found this information useful. If you need more information about the Guidance, EU money, or deinstitutionalisation, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.
*This amount corresponds to the long-term budget 2021-2027 of the European Union, also called multi-annual financial framework.
**The Common Provision Regulation, laying down rules of the cohesion policy funds, states “Funds should be implemented in a way that promotes the transition from institutional to family-based and community-based care”. (recital 6)
Inclusion Europe is co-funded by the European Union. The EU bears no responsibility for the contents of this document.