FIMITIC

On the 4th of October, delegations of disabled people travelling from 30 different European countries gathered in Brussels to call on the European Union for comprehensive disability legislation.

Delegations from several FIMITIC member countries were present in the massive citizens´ outdoor gathering at Rond-Point Schuman in Brussels where most European Institution buildings are located.
In many FIMITIC member countries mobilisation took place and the signature campaign was strongly and successfully supported by FIMITIC member organizations. In only 9 months of time, the European Disability Forum has met the ambitious challenge launched last January: to collect one million signatures across the European Union in favour of comprehensive EU disability legislation.

The EDF member organisations – also FIMITIC as full member of EDF - were actively involved in the “1million4disability” campaign.

The campaign petition, officially launched by the European Disability Forum, called on the European Union for the adoption of comprehensive disability legislation that will effectively protect disabled people from discrimination in all fields of life. Based on the principle of participatory democracy, the petition also aimed to raise awareness among public opinion on the difficult situation faced by 50 million disabled people in the EU, confronted to discrimination and exclusion in all fields of life.

The signatures were collected - in the 27 Member States, also in Iceland, Norway and non EU Member States - electronically through the campaign website and manually in each country, and the exact number legally certified. 1.288.022 signatures addressed to José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, have been delivered to the European Commission today.

For more information on the EDF campaign “1million4disability”: www.1million4disability.eu

Brussels, November 22, 2007