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In February we were very busy with various reporting obligations (contributions to the EBU Annual Report 2025 and to the CERV25 technical report, update of our registration in the EU Transparency Register, reporting to the EBU Board) which took time normally dedicated to advocacy activities proper.
We are getting organised to support the candidacy of Francesca Sbianchi – Chairwoman of our Advocacy Committee – for membership of the European Disability Forum’s Board.
Employment
At the EDF-ENGO meeting of 5 February we informed our partners of our background note for the European Semester on the compatibility of disability benefits with employment. Inclusion Europe and the International Cerebral Palsy Society expressed interest to collaborate. We had follow up consultation meetings with Inclusion Europe and EDF to exchange of advocacy strategy.
We registered for the European Civil Society Seminar. This year’s edition is on “Social and employment policies in the European Semester 2026”. During the event, the European Commission will present an overview of the 2026 European Semester cycle and highlight key strategic priorities in the employment and social fields. In addition, a dedicated session will provide the opportunity to meet and exchange on the work and activities of Economic Counsellors. We plan to use the breakout session on “Social protection (including access and coverage of social security benefits and services, housing accessibility)”, to present the EBU background note on the compatibility of disability benefits with employment.
We attended the EU Disability Platform’s Employment subgroup meeting of 19 February on supported employment, about guidance being prepared by Association of Supported Employment Europe as part of the EU Disability Employment Package.
Inclusive design
We have drafted an EBU issue paper on inaccessible household appliances. This draft will undergo internal consultation before it is finalised and eventually used for awareness-raising.
We assessed the outcome of the evaluation of the EU Lifts Directive and issued a statement about it, after sharing views with ANEC, the EU consumers’ voice in standardisation.
We are preparing a response to the European Commission’s public consultation for the evaluation and impact assessment of the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive. We are still waiting for input from our Advocacy Committee and Accessibility Working Group.
"Response from Executive Vice-President of COM, responsible for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, to ONCE/EBU/EDF/EASPD joint letter on opposition to Spanish decree on accessible labelling of products. Spain has withdrawn its proposal in the meantime, and Stéphane Séjourné does not saying anything new about the COM's position, except that ""Should Spain decide to re-notify a new draft Decree, (they) will be ready to engage in a dialogue with the Spanish authorities and assist them"" and that ""in line with (our) suggestion, (they will) reflect on how accessible labelling for blind and visually impaired persons could be included in the second phase of the Strategy on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.”
Mobility
It was agreed that EBU will produce a position paper in the perspective of the review of the EU Acoustic Vehicle Alert System (AVAS) Regulation.
Miscellaneous
We started preparing a series of 2 webinars, respectively to raise the awareness of our members on European standardisation and to build their capacity to engage in it at national level.
The information was circulated within our network about a new database of the European Commission, DOTCOM, which covers national laws, policies, strategies, and other initiatives related to disability across all EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, as well as at EU and UN level.