A new report published by the European Commission shows that children with special needs and disabled adults are still placed in segregated institutions and those in mainstream educational settings often receive inadequate support.
Around 45 million EU citizens of working age have a disability and 15 million children have special educational needs. The report shows that in some cases, they are deprived of educational and employment opportunities altogether.
People with disabilities or special educational needs are much more likely to be unemployed or economically inactive, and even those who are relatively successful in the job market often earn less than their non-disabled counterparts, the report states.