CITIZEN DISCUSSION ON FUNDAMENTAL
                                       AND SOCIAL RIGHTS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

                                                          25.2.1997

AUTOR : National Association of the Disabled in Finland
 

The National Association of the Disabled sees it as a positive and an important line in the working or the "Comité des Sages" (Committee of the Wise) that they
strengthen the position of citizens and citizen organisations, and that these organisations are given a hearing on the EU´s developmental programmes.

Common problems in the EU countries, such as unemployment, segregation, increasing age among the population, changes in family structures, and the increasingly
sparse funding allocated for social security, demand active afforts within the union and in individual countries.

The EU´s social policies have traditionally aimed at securing the rights of employees and their family members; this can also be seenin the appointment of the
"Committee of Wise." The concept of social security in the Nordic countries differs from that of the EU in that it in the Nordic countries also includes social services
and last-resort subsistence supports. Characteristic for the Nordic model is its inherent joint reponsibility and wide coverage of social security, and its financing
through public taxation. The right to social security and social and health services is guaranteed to all persons living in Nordic countries no matter whether they
participate in working life or not. Various forms of support and services aim at guaranteeing that every citizen of majority has the right to lead an independent life
whatever his financial or social status. The National Association of the Disabled´s basic view on the lines of social policies is explicitly stated in the Association´s
"Green Book" of 15.3.1994. In addition, we also wish to turn attention to the following specifics:
 
 

Basic Rights has a well-established meaning

The concept of basic rights has a well-established meaning in that it denotes only those fundamental rights, which in international agreements are accepted as human
rights, or given the status of fundamental rights in the constitution of separate states.

Citizens´ legal protection and the understandability of regulations require that established and familiar conceptual contents are not changed. As the EU´s concept of
fundamental rights (cif. the EU´s goal, charter on the fundamental social rights of employees) does not contain the basic rights quaranteed in alla agreements on
human rights and nor the constitutional rights quaranteed to citizens in the separate member states, the National Association of the Disabled praxises, so that only the
rights mentioned in the agreements on human rights and in the constitutions of member countries are considered fundamental rights. Further, instead of talking about
fundamental rights in the EU, one should speak of the union taking an obligation in human rights agreements and in respecting and controlling human rights. When the
concepts of human or fundamental rights are applied to a certain group or otherwise in a more narrow sense, distinct expressions are used, for example, the rights of
employees (cif. the community´s charter on the fundamental social rights of employees).
 
 

The EU joining the European Council´s agreement on human rights - avoiding overlaps and quaranteeing citizens a clear system

As the concept fundamental right is extracted from international agreements on human rights, the National Association of the Disabled does not find it necessary to
add a separate list of fundamental rights to the EU´s charter agreement. On the other hand, the Association finds it important that the European Union or the
European Community joins the European Council´s agreement on human rights, and the UN´s general agreement on citizen and political rights, and economic, social
and cultural rights, and joins ILO´s(International Labour Organisation) agreements and control system. The National Association of the Disabled finds it positive that
the commission, as a tool, has adopted the UN´s The Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disablities.

Above we pointed out the established contenst of the basic concept. This concerns also the control system of human and fundamental rights. Established concepts,
the possibility of citizens´ to bring a matter before the European Council´s court of human rights, the control systems of the UN´s agreements and the established
legal praxises are all familiar things to the union´s citizens. Overlapping matters must be avoided to keep the system clear, and on the other hand, this also gives the
possibility to avoid overlapping costs.

Establishing a separate court of appeal and extending the community´s jurisdiction cause unnecessary costs and inrease the individual´s feeling of insecurity and his
need for legal assistance in legal matters and when choosing the right forum of justice among the courts. Citizens find it impossible to handle a multilayered legal
system. The National Association of the Disabled considers it more economic and straightforward that one in matters being processed by the EU´s court may
request a statement from European Council´s court of human rights of from the UN´s controlling bodies, when the matter concerns fundamental rights or human
rights as such.
 
 

Including a general prohibition against discrimination in the charter agreement

To enable citizens to trust the union´s activities and that their human rights are respected, they must first see themselves as equals with other people living in EU
countries. The National Association of the Disabled did already in previous comments point out that EU policies are to be based on equality among citizens so that
no one, whatever his endeavours, is without acceptable cause placed in an inferior position in relation to other people. The provisions for prohibiting discrimination
included in the Finnish constitution classify sex, age, origin, language, religious and other beliefs, opinion, state of health, disability and other causes related to an
individual as grounds for segregation. To be preventive and functional, discrimination prohibition requires sanctions, consequences that take effect when
discrimination occurs. In Finland, the matter is solved by including in the criminal code provisions that define a punishment for discrimination occuring in certain areas
of human activities. According to this provision, the person who, while engaged in business activities, self-employment, public services, as an official or carrying out
other public tasks, or arranging public events or meetings, without acceptable reason with respect to the segregation ground mentioned above, places and individual
in a considerably worse position than other persons, shall be fined for discrimination or put in jail for at most six months.

This prohibition against segregation strengthens the citizen´s position as a consumer, which also was stressed during the conference of the European Council in Dublin
13-14.12.1996.
 
 

Prohibiting discrimination vs. unemployed

As the EU´s activities in social policy concentrate on securing the position of employees and their relatives, and because a significant part of the union´s citizens are
outside working life because of unemployment, the National Association of the Disabled finds it a positive matter that the "Comité des Sages" stresses active labour
force policies and the prevention of segregation.

Several investigations prove that the current unemployment is partly structural and partly permanent. This places great demands on activities in the EU as also in its
member states, because also unemployed people must be quaranteed a meaningful life and a decent and sufficient base for subsistence, if necessary as a salary for
citizens, only then can we be sure that peace will prevail in Europe. Instabilities in society caused by the segregation of large portions of the population and growing
criminality are major threats to Europe´s competitive ablitiy. Various functional bodies within the EU have often pointed out this problem.

The National Association of the Disabled believes that one should take special efforts to prevent the segregation of the long-term unemployed, insufficiently trained
and the most severely disabled people, and take actual actions, for example, quarantee them education, reeducation, rehabilitation and practical training.

To improve the employment situation of disabled people particularly, positive, special actions are needed in the present unemployment situation. It its comments on
the Green Book, the National Association of the Disabled proposed the following actions:

     the necessity to create prerequisites for the mobility of disabled workers
     a compensation from society to the employer for extra costs caused by an employee´s disability
     a general reduction of working hours (for example, a scheme of 6 hours + 6 hours)
     part-time work
     arranging personal assistants to the job site
     supporting self-employing disabled people
     exploiting the newest technology (technical aid devices, working tools)
     working remotely
 
 

Supporting severely disabled entrepreneurs

General demands for labour forces have been central when it comes to employing disabled job applicants. The greater the unemployment, the more difficult it
becomes for a disabled person to get a job. The also stay longer unemployed than other people. A query among our Association´s members revealed also that a
major part of severely disabled members participating in working life is self-employed. The reason for this is that severely disabled persons found it extremely difficult
to get employed by another employer. Self-employment is for them the only way to get employment and thus to support themselves and their families.

In Finland, the employment of severely disabled entrepreneurs is supported so that a person, whose working and functionel abilities are reduced by at least 70 %, is
released from paying value added tax, if his business activities concern only goods made by himself or the sale of work related to goods made by himself. A
prerequisite is that no other assistants than his spouse or descendants younger than 18 years participate in these activities.

With reference to the EU´s directive on value added tax, the government proposed in 1995 that this tax exemption be removed for all other severely disabled
entrepreneurs except the blind. The tax relief, however, was extended with a two-years transition period. The National Association of the Disabled is holding the
opinion that removing the tax exemption for other severely disabled entrepreneurs than the blind discriminates other groups of disabled, for instance, mobility
disabled precision mechanics and radio mechanics, etc., and will annihilates their right to work. The National Association of the Disabled in Finland proposes that the
European Union take immediate actions on several levels to support severely disabled people. The Standard Rules of the EU and the UN stress actions that make
self-employment possible for severely disabled people. As examples of ways to provide financial support, the Standard Rules mention, for example, tax reductions,
loans and special funds.
 
 
 

The promotion of social and other human rights must not remain depending on structural funds

According to the subsidiarity principle the social policies of member states and the social and health services they arrange are areas that belong to national
jurisdiction, a good thing, considering the different social structures and financial systems of the member states. Our Association considers it necessary to provide a
distinct definition of the tasks of the union, on the one hand, and those of the member states on the other hand, and take care that each member country possesses
factual opportunities to sustain its special characteristics, as also the "Comité des sages" proposes.

As the support systems of the structural funds are always limited in time and tied to currently prevailing political trends (sinking the poverty programme, etc.), and
local ones in nature, not committing the whole nation, we must see this as weakness when handling unemployment, preventing discrimination or promoting human
righst. In addition, the efforts to reform the structural funds, aimed at reducing bureaucracy and adimistrative costs, may reduce or remove some of these funds and
turn the entire support system into discounts on EU membership fees (Helsingin Sanomat 25.2.1997 [Finland´s major newspaper]).

Increasingly important is that also the EU undertakes in its own work to guarantee that member countries can secure every citizen the social and other rights
mentioned in the agreement on human rights, political power relations and economic trends aside. This will require a critical stance when creating EMU and securing
the possibility of member states to control and exert influence.
 
 

The Commission and the UN´s Standard Rules

The Commission has taken great efforts to create a new disability strategy with its communication On Equality of Opportunity for People with Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, and the Commission aim at promoting the realisation of the UN´s rules.

According to its communication, the Commission intends to establish a control centre or network to observe disability policies and this centre or network is to be
based on acitivities by independent specialists from member states. The National Association of the Disabled in Finland points also in this out that overlapping work
is to be avoided and proposes that controlling be carried out in cooperation with the European Disability Forum and the follow-up and reporting system of the UN´s
Standard Rules.
 

National Association of the Disabled in Finland
Kumpulantie 1 A
00520 HELSINKI

FONTE : http://europa.eu.int/en/agenda/igc-home/instdoc/ngo/finciten.htm