European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech by Commissioner Lahbib at the Youth Policy Dialogue on Disability Rights Brussels, 20 March 2026 It is a pleasure to be with you at the Comic Art Museum in this beautiful Art Nouveau building, designed by the Belgian architect Victor Horta. During your tour of the museum, you certainly met a few of my “old friends”. TinTin and Snowy. Lucky Luke and Jolly Ju...
European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech by Commissioner Lahbib at the Youth Policy Dialogue on Disability Rights Brussels, 20 March 2026 It is a pleasure to be with you at the Comic Art Museum in this beautiful Art Nouveau building, designed by the Belgian architect Victor Horta. During your tour of the museum, you certainly met a few of my “old friends”. TinTin and Snowy. Lucky Luke and Jolly Jumper. And of course, the wonderfully lazy Gaston La Gaffe. This Museum brings back a lot of memories for me. I grew up here in Brussels, not far from here. As a child, I came here with my family. I remember walking through these rooms with a big smile, sitting in a corner reading a comic book, losing myself in faraway worlds, with all my colourful friends. A warm welcome to all of you. We are surrounded by “friends”. And that feels like the perfect place to talk about something important: role models. We grow up watching them. We learn by following them. They shape what we believe is possible, and one day we step forward and become that example for others. Let me tell you the story of an inspiring woman: Ana Peláez. She grew up in a small town in Spain. She lost her sight at a very young age. As a child, she was sent to a boarding school for blind children, far from her family. At the age of thirteen, she made a bold choice. She left that system and went to a regular school. Later, she came to Brussels, alone, to study. At first, no host family would accept her, more than sixty said no when they learned she was blind. But she did not give up. Finally, a family stepped in and she stayed. She studied, worked, and built a life, and then she went further. She fought for the rights of women with disabilities. She helped shape Spain's law against gender-based violence and helped draft the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Today she Chairs the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the first woman with a disability to lead it. She did not just break barriers. She changed the system. I hope many of you will follow her path and go even further. In Europe, we have made real progress, and we should say it clearly. In 2011, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities entered into force across all EU Member States. This was a historic moment. For the first time, we had a legally binding global framework that set minimum standards for the rights of persons with disabilities. This showed that rights are not optional. They apply to everyone. Since then, we have taken concrete steps. Let me give you a few examples. First, the European Accessibility Act. This law is about everyday life, the things we use every single day, like phones, computers, banks, and payments. They must be accessible, not as a favour, but as a basic rule. So what does that mean in real life? It means when you arrive at a train station, you can read the screen, hear the announcement, buy a ticket. It means calling 112 in an emergency works for everyone, by voice, by text, by video, anywhere in Europe, no delay, no confusion. It means using a cash machine is possible even if you cannot see the screen, with sound, with touch, with clear design. And height requirements help wheelchair users and people of small stature. It means devices at work connect easily to assistive technology, so people can do their job and contribute. This is what accessibility looks like, and this is how Europe is becoming a global leader in digital access. A second example of progress is the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for Persons with Disabilities. A simple, but life-changing idea. Wherever you go in Europe, your rights should travel with you, not stop at the border. These cards mean your disability status is recognised across the EU. Access to services, support, parking. They will be fully in place by 2028, and they will make free movement real for millions of people. Third, employment. Because work is more than a salary, it is independence, it is a place in society. Our Employment Equality Directive already protects against discrimination in jobs and training, and it requires reasonable accommodation. But we need to make sure these rights work in real life. That is why we are preparing practical guidance for employers, trade unions, and public services, so everyone knows what to do and how to put it into action. We back this with real funding through the European Social Fund+ and the European Regional Development Fund. This money helps countries invest in accessibility. It helps move away from institutions towards independent living in the community. Everyone deserves to live their life on their own terms. But let me be honest. We are not there yet. In the Europe today, around 90 million people live with a disability, and too many are still left behind. Almost 1 in 3 is at risk of poverty or social exclusion, and too many young people drop out of school. Too many doors are still closed. That is the reality, and we cannot accept that. So what do we do? We work together, not for people with disabilities, but with them. We listen, we learn, we build policies together, and above all, we take action. This Youth Policy Dialogue is part of that effort. It is a space to hear you and to be inspired by you as we strengthen our Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. You are young leaders. And your ideas matter. We share the same goal: a Europe where you can reach your full potential, where nothing holds you back, where your future is yours to build. Let's do it together. SPEECH/26/670
Speech Brief