European Network of Non-Governmental Experts in the Field of Combating Discrimination (Disability), 2002--2004

The Network was established in Spring 2002. A first meeting took place in April 2002, a second meeting in November 2002, a third meeting in April 2003, and a fourth meeting in November 2003. The final conference took place in Louvain in April 2004.

• The main objective of the Network is to gather and evaluate information and data on national legislation dealing with discrimination on the ground of disability, initially in the context of employment and in the context of monitoring the effective and correct implementation of Community law. High quality, timely and comparable information is a productive factor both within law making apparatus as well as in democratic society.

• The information generated will point toward good practice.  A central aim of the Network will be to reveal this good practice, to evaluate critical success factors, and to assist in the propagation of this good practice on a Europe wide scale.

• The Network will render the raw information and data as cross-referable as possible by producing thematic studies in consultation with the Commission.

• The Network also aims to contribute to the Commission’s overall strategic thinking. First of all, the Network will inform and enrich the Commission’s own deliberations on the correct implementation of Community law in the Member States. This goes to the implementation of Framework Directive on employment discrimination (Council Directive 2000/78/EC). Secondly, and more strategically, the Network will contribute to the Commission’s overall strategic thinking on the future application of the non-discrimination idea in the context of disability to new fields beyond employment.

Members of the Network: Prof. Gerard Quinn (Co-ordinator, National University of Ireland, Galway), Mary Ruddy (Assistant Co-Ordinator, National University of Ireland, Galway), Prof. Jeremy Cooper (Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom), Prof. Emmanual Decaux (France), Prof. Luis Rodriguez Vega (Barcelona, Spain), Helena Pereira de Melo (Lisboa, Portugal), Prof. Olivier Deschutter (Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium), Dr. Lisa Waddington (Maastricht University, The Netherlands), Prof. Nicole Delperee (Luxembourg), Holger Kallehauge (Denmark), Paul Lappalainen (Sweden), Dr. Catarina Krause (Finland), Prof. Dr. Theresia Degener (Germany), Prof. Dr. Ulrike Davy (Austria), Dr. Nikos Gavalas (Greece), Antonio Organtini (Italien), Shivaun Quinlivan (Ireland).