CRPD Network

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The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional Protocol were adopted on 13 December 2006 and it entered into force on 3 May 2008. The EU concluded the CRPD on 22 January 2011; the convention is binding on the institutions of the Union and the Member States in accordance with Article 216 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union.

On 8 January 2015, the Conference of Presidents (CoP) of the European Parliament tasked the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs with setting up an inter-committee network on the implementation of the CRPD at political level made up of Members from each Committee concerned, assisted by the Committee Secretariats and presided over by the Chair of the EMPL Committee or its representative. The aim of the network is to promote public debate and the political role of the EP in the implementation of the CRPD. The CRPD Network is chaired by Ms Katrin Langensiepen for the mandate 2019-2024. The Network reviews, screens documents and activities to raise awareness of possible disability-related issues and promotes a coordinated approach whenever possible. Meetings are organised two times per year.
Latest news about the CRPD Network

The European Parliament will host a European Disability week from 27 November to 4 December 2023, during which parliamentary committees are invited to organise exchanges of views on topical issues or other events addressing matters of importance for persons with disabilities. The programme of the week will be published soon.

Activities of the Committees represented in the CRPD Network