Participation of persons with disabilities in the European elections (debate)
Anthea McIntyre (ECR). – Madam President, last month I was honoured to lead a delegation from the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) of this Parliament to the United Nations in New York for the 11th session of the Conference of State Parties to the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The EU is officially represented in the CRPD by the Commission, so this was the first time that Members of the European Parliament, the directly elected representatives of citizens across Europe, participated in the event.
I was particularly pleased to listen to my EMPL colleague, Ádám Kósa, make a powerful speech about the participation of people with disabilities in the political process. In this session entitled ‘Nothing about us without us’, we also learned about the practical steps that some countries are taking to ensure that everyone can vote – mobile polling stations, taking the election to the voter in hospital, portable polling booths that can enable a wheelchair user to cast their vote in private.
As signatories to the Convention, the EU has a responsibility to ensure that everyone can participate in the electoral process.