mr president i would firstly like to thank the rapporteur for all her cooperation in the passage of this report through the committee on employment and social affairs
i was rapporteur as you know on the un convention on behalf of the european parliament in two thousand and three as the un convention was being drafted
we have since achieved a legally binding convention which i believe is historic
that is a milestone in itself but what i said in two thousand and three i will say again
if the eu is to have any credibility in this debate it must lead by example
international human rights treaties are of no use whatsoever if countries do not sign ratify and implement
yes all member states have signed but they have not all signed the protocol
most of them have not ratified and they certainly have not implemented something we have called for in numerous parliamentary reports
the uk government my own government for example has again missed its own deadline of last year for ratifying the convention which is an absolute disgrace
to my mind this is shameful
i would like to see the commission and parliament keeping up the pressure on member states to ratify and implement
this convention has the potential to empower millions of disabled people in the eu
we must now do all we can to make it a reality
