The European Parliament today approved its position on the next long-term EU budget.
MEPs backed a position that includes three significant changes to the European Commission’s original proposal:
- Bigger budget overall. MEPs are calling for a 10% increase to the total seven-year budget.
- Dedicated European Social Fund with its own budget of 124 billion euros.
- Specific reference to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the budget text itself.
These are protections many organisations, Inclusion Europe among them, have been pushing for.
To understand what’s at stake
- Around one million people with intellectual disabilities are still living in institutions across Europe — segregated, cut off from ordinary life.
- Too many people are locked out of employment.
- Too many families lie awake at night wondering: What happens to my son or daughter when I am no longer here?
EU funding helps in improving this and many other issues faced by people with intellectual disabilities and their families.
The EU budget isn’t an abstract dispute. It’s a decision impacting whether and how people get to live.
What comes next
Today’s vote is the European Parliament’s position — not the final word.
Negotiations with EU member states (represented in the Council) and the European Commission will follow.
It is important to talk with national governments and politicians in EU countries and let them know EU money needs to be used for inclusion.