Freddy Jussien, Inclusion Europe advocacy lead, writes about the 2026 State of the European Union speech:
On 16 September in Strasbourg, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, gave her State of the European Union speech.
Last year, I answered this speech myself. This year I would rather let the people who have spent their whole lives inside the gap between a right and a privilege do the talking.
“Care is not a privilege. Housing is not a privilege. They are rights.”
I agree with this sentence from Ms von der Leyen. But what do others have to say about this?
Paul is 62. He lives in Ireland. He left an institution:
“I decided to move out of the institution and into the community. It took me three years to find a place. I chose to move to County Meath because houses in Dublin where I work were too expensive.”
Three years.
And Paul is one of the lucky ones. An advocacy group helped him look at properties. Another organisation helped him get a mortgage.
Irene is 22. She lives in Spain:
“I would like to live alone. But right now I couldn’t because I don’t have a job or money.”
Most people never get that far. In 22 EU countries, few or no adults with intellectual disabilities live in their own place. In 14, most live with their families. In 23, they are likely to move into an institution once their parents can no longer support them.
At least 1.1 million people with intellectual disabilities in Europe live in segregated “care” institutions with more than 10 people.
The first ever Affordable Housing Plan offers the opportunity build housing and provide better support. So the EU should use it so next time, people with intellectual disabilities do not have to wait like Paul.
You said care is not a privilege
Esther is 24. She lives in the Netherlands:
“I cannot choose my support for where I live. I cannot choose who works when. And if someone new is hired, we have no say in the matter.”
László is 42. He lives in Hungary. He describes good care better than any policy document:
“Good support is like a suit: it is custom made for you. So, you are not alone when you need help, but you are not overprotected.”
Today, in the EU, many people do not get the support they ask for and need.
And often families are holding all of this up.
A parent told us this, in our Young Families Project:
“If you don’t speak the language, or if you don’t know how to navigate the system, then you are lost and your child is too. Nobody’s going to look out for you.”
Parent, Young Families Project, Inclusion Europe
One word missing
I read the whole speech, twice. The word “disability” does not appear once.
More than 100 million people with disabilities live in Europe, and are still treated as an afterthought.
“Our common home”
Ms von der Leyen closed her speech in French, calling Europe “notre maison commune”. Our common home.
A common home without homes for all?
Is that a way to guarantee a right?
Actions matter more than words.