Recommendations on the European Disability Card

The European Disability Card: Analysis of its relevance for people with psychosocial disabilities

On 6 September 2023, the European Commission published the proposal for a Directive establishing the European Disability Card. The proposal to create a European Disability Card is one of the flagship initiatives of the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030 and one of the Commission’s key initiatives for 2023.

The objective of the European Disability Card is to facilitate access to the right to free movement for persons with disabilities. By ensuring mutual recognition of disability status among all member states of the European Union (EU), it allows people with disabilities moving to any other Member State for a short stay to benefit from special conditions or preferential treatment when accessing services, activities and facilities, on equal terms and conditions as residents with disabilities.

The current proposal for a directive is the result of different consultations with general public and targeted stakeholders. Mental Health Europe contributed to the public consultation, to targeted online surveys, as well as to the discussions in the framework of the Disability Platform, including its specific sub-group on the European Disability Card. We put forward recommendations on how to strengthen the legislative proposal, from the perspective of people with psychosocial disabilities.