The European Parliament,

–  having regard to Articles 21 and 26 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which set out the rights of persons with disabilities,

–  having regard to Rule 123 of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas the EU Member States have signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,

B.  whereas Article 56a of Directive 2004/27/EC on the Community code relating to medicinal products for human use specifies that the name of medicinal products must be expressed in Braille format on their packaging,

1.  Stresses that people with visual disabilities have the right to an independent life and full participation in society;

2.  Calls on the European Commission to launch a wide consultation with stakeholders on the cost, efficiency and feasibility of introducing at Community level a voluntary system of labelling in Braille format on the packaging of industrial products which would include, at least, information on the type of product and its expiry date in order to facilitate access for consumers with visual disabilities; given that not all blind people can read Braille, the proposed consultation should also investigate alternative ways of enabling access to information on packaging;

3.  Calls on the Commission, in line with the principles of Corporate Social Responsibility, to provide incentives for European industries and enterprises that will raise their awareness of this issue;

4.  Instructs its President to forward this declaration, together with the names of the signatories(1), to the Commission, the Parliaments of the Member States and the United Nations.

(1) The list of signatories is published in Annex 1 to the Minutes of 23 June 2011 (P7_PV(2011)06-23(ANN1)).