Page - 107 - in Radical Solutions and Open Science - An Open Approach to Boost Higher Education

7 ProsumerisminHigherEducation… 113 reinforcedthisshift inunderstandingandpolicyorientation,assertingthat ‘Thecore valueofequality—renderedhereasequalopportunities—isnowseenas thecentral benchmark against which economic and social structures must be assessed’. The EUFundamental RightsAgency, established in 2007, provided the EUandmem- ber stateswithexpertiseoncoursesof action inhuman rights—including the rights of peoplewith disability (although not expresslymentioned in the legislation). At the trans-national level, andacrossvirtually allmember states, there is a legislative framework inplacewhich inprinciple supports the integrationof studentswithdis- abilitieswithin the higher education system. This has as its foundation theUnited NationsConventionon theRightsofPeoplewithDisabilities (UNCRPD). Accessibility, equal opportunities and social inclusion for people with disabil- ities are also referenced in the EU general budget, for example, in areas relating to: Employment andSocialAffairs, Energy andTransport, Environment,Regional Policy, Education andCulture, Communication, External Relations, Enlargement, Commission’sAdministration, Statistics, EuropeanPersonnel SelectionOffice and AdministrativeExpenditure related toPolicyAreas.Disability isalsohighlighted in the keyover-archingpolicy ‘EU2020’.6 This provides a ‘newstrategy for jobs and smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’. To achieve the objectives outlined in the Strategy, theEuropeanCouncil agreed tosetEUheadline targets,whichservesasa benchmarkfor thenational targets that theMemberStateswillneed tosubmit to the Commission.EU2020includesseven‘flagshipinitiatives’,someofwhichhavedirect relevance for peoplewith disabilities, for example, the ‘Platformagainst poverty’, ‘Youthon themove’, ‘Anagenda fornewskills and jobs’and the ‘DigitalAgenda’. Thesekeypolicy instruments havebeen supportedbyanumberof additional com- munications,andmandates,notably theCommunicationoneAccessibility, focusing onimprovingtheconsistencyofeAccessibilityrequirements inPublicProcurement; theSingleMarket review, focusingonConsumerEmpowerment and thepromotion ofaccessibility standards,Mandate420, focusingonaccessibilityof theBuiltEnvi- ronment andMandateM376, focusingonaccessibility issues in ICTproducts and services forpublicprocurement. Withinthehighereducationsphere, theover-archinglegalandpolicybackground for the EU has been shaped by the European Disability Action Plan 2003–2010 aimedatmainstreamingdisability issueswithinall relevantEUpoliciesand theEU DisabilityStrategy2010–2020whichemphasises equal access toquality education and lifelong learningaskey factors inenabling fullparticipation insociety.Against this background, accessibility of education and lifelong learning to persons with disabilities has gradually become a more prominent issue on the agenda of EU policymakers.Sharedobjectivesandaframeworkforco-operationbetweencountries wereagreedbyeducationministersunder ‘ET2020’,which includedacommitment toensure thatEuropeanUnion’seducationand trainingsystemsbecame‘accessible toall’. However, a realisticpictureofdisability inhigher education isdifficult to estab- lish, since comprehensiveEuropeanCommission statistics are only available from 6CommissionCommunication‘Europe2020:astrategyforsmart,sustainableandinclusivegrowth’.