The Diplomat
The ambassadors of the European Union countries in Spain and the National Organization of the Blind of Spain (ONCE) analyzed this week in Madrid the challenge of the labor insertion of people with disabilities, one of the priorities of the French Presidency of the Council of the EU (PFUE).
The event was held on May 10 at the French Residence at the initiative of the French ambassador in Madrid, Jean-Michel Casa, as well as ONCE and the Academy of Diplomacy, within the framework of the French Presidency.
During his speech, Ambassador Casa recalled that, during its Presidency, France wants to address “in a concrete way, possible measures to strengthen the participation of people with disabilities in economic and professional life, improve access to goods and services, as well as facilitate access to the rights of people with disabilities”.
As reported by the French Embassy, the interventions focused on two particularly relevant issues in this year 2022, such as the employment of young people with disabilities and the reception and inclusion of refugees with disabilities in the labor market. Also during the meeting, the Ambassador was presented with the ONCE lottery coupon dedicated to the French Presidency of the Council of the EU, which will be drawn on June 18.
The meeting concluded with a visit of the headquarters of ILUNION, a group of companies linked to ONCE whose purpose is to ensure the insertion of people with disabilities in the labor market. Present in Portugal since 2017 and in Colombia since 2018, 40.5% of its 38,000 employees, in the service and industrial laundry sectors, are people with disabilities. “I would like to underline the fundamental role played by actors such as ONCE”, for whom “the professional inclusion of people with disabilities has been at the heart of their concerns since their origins”, stressed the French ambassador to Spain.
