On 6 November 2024, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in Brussels conducted the hearings of Hadja Lahbib from Belgium, the European Commissioner-designate for Preparedness, Crisis Management and Equality, and Olivér Várhelyi from Hungary, the European Commissioner-designate for Health and Animal Welfare. Autism-Europe welcomes Ms. Lahbib’s commitment to the needs and rights of people with disabilities and Mr. Várhelyi’s mention of a new common approach to autism. However, we expect clarification on the scope of future actions and look forward to being meaningfully involved in shaping them.
In her opening statement, Hadja Lahbib emphasized that implementation would be at the heart of her mandate. She is convinced that building an inclusive Europe free from discrimination will be a ‘team Europe effort,’ which includes mainstreaming gender and equality into all policies through the task force on equality. This also involves ensuring the full implementation of the Istanbul Convention. Furthermore, Ms. Lahbib stressed the need for concrete actions against hate speech and hate crimes and committed to supporting the action plan against cyberbullying. She also called for new actions under the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Members of the European Parliament, along with the European equality and disability movement, including Autism-Europe, expressed concern that not having equality as a stand-alone portfolio could weaken the fight for an equal society. Ms. Lahbib responded that she does not see combining several portfolios as weakening equality. Instead, she believes that equality mainstreaming means all 26 European Commissioners should be responsible for equality, dividing the responsibility across all sectors. Pressed by another MEP, the Commissioner-designate confirmed that the equality task force would remain within the Directorate-General for Equality, a subdivision of the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumer Affairs. Additionally, the task force will stay part of her portfolio with the same staff as the outgoing European Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli from Malta.
MEP Rosa Estaràs from Spain, Vice Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, pressed the Commissioner-designate on civil protection after the flash floods in Spain and on combating discrimination and mainstreaming inclusion, especially of women with disabilities, into all policy areas. Ms. Lahbib responded that people with disabilities are the most vulnerable during emergencies, which is why the European Protection Pool has specific training on how to assist persons with disabilities, women, and the elderly. This example illustrates the link between the different policy areas of her portfolio.
MEP Li Anderson from Finland, Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, asked the Commissioner-designate to commit to updating the current Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030 with new flagship initiatives spanning from 2025 to 2030.
Ms. Lahbib responded with two concrete flagship initiatives: First, deinstitutionalisation, which means getting people with disabilities out of institutions to allow them to live the life they want, where they want, and when they want. This requires changing mindsets, as strong institutions in many countries hinder the autonomy of people with disabilities. She plans to develop strategies with representatives on the ground, notably the equality bodies, which will be strengthened from 2026 to give a voice to people with disabilities. Secondly, she believes that better social care support for people with disabilities is essential for deinstitutionalization.
That afternoon, Members of the European Parliament approved Hadja Lahbib as European Commissioner for Preparedness, Crisis Management, and Equality. Autism-Europe looks forward to cooperating with and supporting Commissioner Lahbib in updating the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030.
On the evening of the same day, Olivér Várhelyi from Hungary, European Commissioner-designate for Health and Animal Welfare, gave his opening statement at the hearing before Members of the European Parliament. He mentioned that the European Commission would ensure common approaches covering neurodegenerative illnesses, autism, and non-communicable diseases. Autism-Europe welcomes this mention of autism as it echoes Autism-Europe’s longstanding call for a coordinated and strategic response to meet the needs of autistic people at the EU, national, and regional levels, in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
In the same opening statement, the European Commissioner-designate also announced the continuation of the European Commission’s important work on mental health, specifically investigating the impact of social media and excessive screen time on well-being, especially for the younger generation.
During the hearing, Mr. Várhelyi received a big round of applause when he backed COVID-19 vaccinations as having saved the lives of millions of Europeans. Autism-Europe also welcomes this as a strong call for an evidence-based approach and against fake news around vaccines. Commissioner-designate Várhelyi will face another round of written questions before being approved next week by Members of the European Parliament.