Polityka społeczna Unii Europejskiej wobec osób niepenosprawnych
The social policy of the European Union to the disabled persons

Summary/Abstract: Fundamental elements of the European Union's social policy towards the disabled include: the cooperation via the Commission with member states, the assurance of complete participation of this social group and the inclusion of disability issue in the main trend of the Union's policies. However, the European Union aids actions in favour of the disabled through structural founds, as well as the Community's initiatives financed with them. The article includes only the presentation of the most important legal regulations and European Union's actions taken in favour of the disabled. It is necessary to mention that the Union's social policy in this range, in particular at the beginning, was influenced by international organizations as the United Nations, its specialized agencies - the World Health Organization, the International Labor Organization or the Council of Europe. The actions of these organizations and EU resulted in evolution in the perception of the disabled, namely replacing an exclusively medical model with a social model and so the treatment of this social group as rightful and full value citizens. The social policy towards these people actually consists in the providing of suitable living conditions in the society, the elimination of all kinds of barriers, introduction to an open work market and the prevention of social exclusion. The actions taken in favour of the disabled in recent years on community level as well as with the confines of member states' competence indicate the change of perception of this social group. Consequently, it has changed the attitude to disability issues, what met with reflection in legal regulations. The aim of the present social policy in this range is unification of definitions and regulations concerning the disability in individual states, which will improve the situation of the disabled in considerable degree. Besides, it promotes the idea of independent life being the opposition to the medical model of disability and rejection of other forms reinforcing the dependence of the disabled. In accordance with this idea, many European states give up institutionalized forms of protection in favour of actions which enable life in home conditions, unaided or with aid of social workers, personal assistants. EU keeps on adjusting disability, not limiting itself only to occupation but also taking up initiatives counteracting social exclusion, promoting equal chances, eliminating all barriers, including discrimination.

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