Dear President, dear friends,

I speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

We have reached the midterm of the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities through which the EU has advanced considerably implementing the CRPD. 

Almost all flagships and actions set in the strategy until this year have been delivered. Our accessibility resource centre AccessibleEU is operational and has organised over 200 events, providing trainings to35000 participants. All deliverables of the Disability Employment Package including on employment services, hiring perspectives, combating stereotypes, ensuring reasonable accommodation are discussed with stakeholders. A guidance on independent living related to EU funds in line with the CRPD is available. The European Disability and Parking Cards are adopted to allow persons with disabilities to get equal access to special conditions or preferential treatment offered by services or on parking conditions and facilities across the EU.  The EU Artificial Intelligence Act ensures that persons are protected from possible risks of AI to their health, safety and fundamental rights, such as discrimination, bias or privacy violations. These rules will provide an important contribution to the protection of persons with disabilities from risks of discrimination through AI.

The EU actively participated in the Global Disability Summit and made significant commitments to the disability inclusiveness of EU international action. The EU has been an active supporter of disability mainstreaming in the forthcoming International Conference on Financing for Development. 

A highlight of this year has been the constructive dialogue with the CRPD Committee from which the EU received recommendations related to a large number of EU policies. The EU also welcomes the upcoming application of the European Accessibility Act, in June this year (2025), which will have a significant positive impact on the lives of people with disabilities by improving the accessibility of some goods and services.

We are now reflecting on the next five years of implementation of our Strategy, to reinforce our efforts wherever necessary, taking due account of the Concluding Observations. We are confident that together with the Member States and civil society, in particular organisations of persons with disabilities, whom the EU supports financially to have their voices represented in EU policy making, the strategy will be reinvigorated, and the EU will continue to significantly advance in the implementation of the CRPD.

Thank you.