Toelichting bij COM(2023)512 - Europese gehandicaptenkaart en de Europese parkeerkaart voor personen met een handicap - Hoofdinhoud
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| dossier | COM(2023)512 - Europese gehandicaptenkaart en de Europese parkeerkaart voor personen met een handicap. |
|---|---|
| bron | COM(2023)512  |
| datum | 06-09-2023 |
•Reasons for and objectives of the proposal
The European Union (EU) is founded on the values of human dignity, freedom, and respect of human rights and committed to combating discrimination, including on the grounds of disability, as set out in the Treaty on European Union, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and the Charter of Fundamental Rights (Charter).
The right of EU citizens to move and reside freely within the European Union is one of the EU’s most cherished achievements, and an important driver of its economy.
The EU and all its Member States are party to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The purpose of the UNCRPD is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity. The UNCRPD contains obligations for States Parties to recognise the rights of persons with disabilities to liberty of movement on an equal basis with others. States Parties are also requested to take effective measures to ensure personal mobility with the greatest possible independence for persons with disabilities, including by facilitating the personal mobility of persons with disabilities in the manner and at the time of their choice, and at affordable cost.
The European Pillar of Social Rights, proclaimed by the European Parliament, the Council, and the European Commission at Gothenburg on 17 November 2017 1 , provides that everyone, regardless of disability, has the right to equal treatment and opportunities regarding access to goods and services available to the public (principle 3). In addition, the European Pillar of Social Rights recognises that persons with disabilities have the right to services that enable them to participate in society (principle 17). The European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan refers to significant barriers that persons with disabilities still face, which are further addressed in the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030.
Persons with disabilities whose disability status is assessed and recognised by the competent authorities in a Member State are often granted special conditions or preferential treatment in the access to a variety of services, activities and facilities, including when these are provided not for remuneration in that Member State, and whether provided by public authorities or private operators, on the basis of national or local rules/legal obligations, and often provided on a voluntary basis (in particular by private operators).
The most common special conditions or preferential treatment are offered or provided for with respect to public and private transport, parking spaces, cultural events (e.g. museums), leisure and sport centres or services, amusement parks, tourism. These may consist of free access, reduced tariffs, reduced fees or user charges for toll roads/bridges/tunnels, priority access, personal assistance, support (such as access to braille, audio guides), provision of aids, extended parking or reserved (parking) spaces 2 . With respect to passenger transport services, personal assistants or other persons accompanying or assisting persons with disabilities may travel free of charge or be seated, where practicable next to the person with disabilities or to the person with reduced mobility 3 . Preferential treatment and special conditions are also offered when accessing activities or facilities provided not for remuneration.
However, persons with a recognised disability status in their Member State of residence travelling to another Member State may encounter difficulties with accessing special conditions or preferential treatment offered in or provided for in the Member State they are visiting, often due to a lack of recognition of their disability card or certificate issued by their Member State of residence.
Alongside physical and other barriers in accessing both public and private spaces, high travelling expenses are a key factor discouraging many persons with disabilities from travelling 4 , because they have also specific needs which make their travel costs higher than for persons without disabilities 5 . The Eurostat survey on persons not participating in tourism confirms for the general population that financial reasons are a key argument for not travelling, indicating that 44.83% of the total population did not participate in tourism “for financial reasons” in 2019 6 . Persons with disabilities have a higher poverty risk than persons without disabilities. At EU level, about 21.1% of persons with disabilities aged 16 and over faced a risk of poverty in 2021, compared with 14.9 % of persons without disabilities. The percentage for all persons aged 16 and over was 16.4 %.
Having to deal with legal uncertainty and potential additional costs may impair the possibilities of persons with disabilities to exercise their free movement rights fully and effectively.
Furthermore, for many persons with disabilities, private car transport is the best or only option for getting around independently. The possibility to park as close to their destination as possible and the availability of reserved or extended parking facilities for persons with disabilities is key in supporting their autonomy and facilitates the exercise of free movement rights. The EU parking card for persons with disabilities was created by means of a Council Recommendation establishing a standardised, common EU model/format in 1998 7 and is one of the most visible and important achievements of EU disability policy. It is widely used by all the Member States. However, despite this, cardholders are facing difficulties when using the standardised, EU model parking card for persons with disabilities, such as uncertainties about the rights granted and limited recognition of the card when travelling to other Member States, as well as fines being imposed even when showing the EU parking card or when it is displayed. In addition, national differences in the format and design as well as implementation of the EU parking card for persons with disabilities hamper its use, increase (legal) uncertainty, and give rise to forgery risks or fraudulent actions, as well as enforcement issues 8 .
Therefore, this initiative establishes the framework, rules, and common conditions, including a common standardised model, for a European Disability Card as proof of a recognised disability status and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities, as proof of their recognised right to parking conditions and facilities reserved for persons with disabilities (“parking rights”). The objective of the initiative is to support the access on equal terms and conditions in all Member States for holders of the European Disability Card or European Parking Card for persons with disabilities to special conditions or preferential treatment with respect to services, activities and facilities, including when provided not for remuneration, and respectively parking conditions and facilities.
Mutual recognition of the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities should facilitate and guarantee the exercise by persons with disabilities, when travelling to or visiting another Member State, of their rights to receive and benefit from special conditions and/or preferential treatment offered by private operators or public authorities to access services, activities and facilities, including when provided not for remuneration, as well as access to parking conditions and facilities reserved for persons with disabilities, without discrimination on grounds of nationality or place of residence, on equal terms and conditions as those provided for on the basis of national certificates, disability cards or other formal documents recognising their disability status issued by the competent authorities in the host country.
Establishing a framework of rules and common conditions for both the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities will help ensure a more effective and inclusive participation and inclusion in society of persons with disabilities.
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 9 :
“The Commission will propose creating a European Disability Card by end of 2023 with a view to be recognised in all Member States. It will build on the experience of the ongoing EU Disability Card pilot project in eight Member States and upon the European parking card for persons with disabilities.”
The intention to table a proposal on the European Disability Card was also set out in the Communication on the Conference on the Future of Europe – Putting Vision into Concrete Action 10 and referred to by President von der Leyen in the context of her 2022 State of the Union address 11 . The initiative is part of the Commission Work Programme 2023 – A Union standing firm and united 12 .
The European Parliament called for the Card in three resolutions. In its Resolution of 18 June 2020 on the European Disability Strategy post-2020 13 , it asked the Commission to expand the existing pilot project of the EU Disability Card and to ensure that the EU parking card for people with disabilities is fully observed in all Member States. The European Parliament welcomed the plan to present an initiative on the European Disability Card to be recognised in all Member States, with a view to scaling up the pilot projects for the EU Disability Card and the EU model parking card for persons with disabilities in its Resolution of 7 October 2021 on the protection of persons with disabilities through petitions 14 . It advocated in its Resolution of 13 December 2022 towards equal rights for persons with disabilities 15 , for a legally binding and ambitious initiative, covering a range of different areas beyond culture, leisure and sport.
The European Economic and Social Committee also adopted a supportive exploratory Opinion 16 with respect to the European Disability Card, acknowledging with respect to the EU Parking Card the importance of updating the legislation harmonising the characteristics, issuing procedures and functioning of it.
•Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area
This initiative builds on two existing instruments.
As concerns the European Disability Card, the proposal builds on the related pilot project expanding its scope to all Member States and covering a broader range of different policy areas, not only services, but also activities and facilities, including when provided not for remuneration. The pilot project was carried out on a voluntary basis in eight Member States (Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Malta, Romania, and Slovenia) in 2016-2018 and remained in place after the end of the project. The pilot provided a common format for a card for mutual recognition on a voluntary basis among the eight participating Member States of the disability status (as established in accordance with their respective national eligibility criteria, rules, practices and procedures), for access to benefits and services in the areas of culture, leisure, sport and, in some countries, transport 17 , when travelling to one of the participating countries. National service providers in these sectors could voluntarily adhere to the Card’s scheme. The package of benefits provided in each Member State depended on the number and type of participating service providers. Once they joined the Card’s scheme, service providers were obliged to offer the same benefits they provided to nationals with disabilities also to cardholders from other participating Member States. Member States had to maintain a record of the services that adhere to the system and update it regularly.
The EU Pilot clearly demonstrated the advantages for persons with disabilities in accessing services in the areas of culture, leisure, sport, and, in some cases, transport, and supporting their cross-border movement in the EU for a short period. In addition, the 2021 Study assessing the implementation of the pilot action on the EU Disability Card and associated benefits 18 confirmed the EU added value of the card and concluded that there is potential for larger-scale action.
Compared to the pilot project (which listed the four sectors covered and included (nationally) elaborated lists of “participating providers” in a public database), the underlying rationale/logic of this legislative proposal is different. By providing for the mutual recognition of the European Disability Card in all Member States, this legislative proposal aims to grant cardholders travelling to or visiting another Member State, with access on equal terms and conditions to existing special conditions or preferential treatment in relation to a large variety of services, activities and facilities, including when provided not for remuneration. This approach should significantly reduce the administrative burden in the pilot project for Member States related to the need to maintain and update databases of service providers that accept the European Disability Card.
For the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities, the initiative will replace the system put in place by Council Recommendation 98/376/EC 19 which provided for a voluntary European model of a parking card for people with disabilities and facilitated the recognition of the parking card across Member States. Specific national additions or deviations from the recommended model have led to a proliferation of different cards 20 , hindering their cross-border recognition as well as access of persons with disabilities to special parking conditions and facilities reserved for persons with disabilities that hold a ‘local’ parking card. Moreover, the Council Recommendation has not been updated to reflect developments in technology and digitalisation, or to help Member States experiencing problems with fraud and forgery of the cards to address them.
The proposal will provide the common rules and conditions governing the issuance of the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities and its common template to be applied by all Member States replacing all the multiple existing national parking cards.
Furthermore, in view of guaranteeing equal treatment with EU citizens, it is the Commission’s intention to put forward a separate legal act extending the scope of this proposal to third country nationals legally staying or residing in the territory of a Member State and that are entitled to travel to other Member States in accordance with Union law.
•Consistency with other Union policies
This initiative aims to make it easier for persons with disabilities, when travelling to or visiting another Member State to benefit from available special conditions and/or preferential treatment when accessing services, activities and facilities, including when provided not for remuneration, under equal conditions to residents with disabilities, thus facilitating the exercise of their free movement rights within the EU.
With respect to services normally provided for remuneration in the internal market, this proposal complements Directive 2006/123 on services in the internal market 21 . Furthermore, it complements the European Accessibility Act (Directive 2019/882) 22 and Web accessibility Directive (Directive (EU) 2016/2102) 23 which aim to eliminate and prevent barriers arising from divergent accessibility requirements in the Member States.
The proposal complements and could facilitate the application of the EU passenger rights legislation adopted between 2004 and 2021 in relation to four modes of transport: aviation, rail, waterborne, and bus and coach 24 . This legislation guarantees passengers with disabilities and reduced mobility the right to non-discrimination in access to transport and to receive assistance free of charge and, if necessary, adaptation of the transport services to their special needs to allow them to use the four transport modes as any other citizen.
The initiative is also in line with the recent Directive (EU) 2022/362 25 , which enables the Member States to provide for reduced fees or user charges for toll roads/bridges/tunnels as well as exemptions from the obligation to pay such fees or user charges for any vehicle used or owned by persons with disabilities as concerns roads subject to road charging.
The proposal will equally help support a more effective and inclusive participation in society of persons with disabilities as envisaged by the UNCRPD and contribute to the implementation of the 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development, as Goal 8 encourages policies that promote sustainable tourism and local culture; Goal 10 aims to reduce inequalities; and Goal 11 aims at providing access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all.
Moreover, the proposal provides a further building block for a wider European digital certification infrastructure, which builds on the experience of the EU Digital Covid Certificate and will link to the European Digital Identity Wallet after adoption of the proposed revised Regulation.
Inhoudsopgave
•Legal basis
This proposal has multiple, interlinked objectives concerning several policy areas, such as services, transport, and rights to free movement. Therefore, the use of different legal bases is the most adequate and appropriate to cover the various objectives of this initiative.
Articles 53(1) and Article 62 TFEU (concerning services normally provided for remuneration in the internal market) are relevant, as the proposal will grant cardholders the right to benefit from preferential conditions/treatment when accessing services on an equal basis with persons with a disability in the visited Member State.
With respect to special conditions and preferential treatment to access services in the field of transport, including parking facilities, Article 91 TFEU provides the necessary legal base. In addition, this Article is also relevant since it allowed for the adoption of the Council Recommendation in 1998 26 which created the existing EU parking card voluntary scheme, which will be replaced by the current initiative.
In order to cover those special conditions or preferential treatment provided when accessing activities and facilities that do not fall into the categories of ‘services’ covered by the other legal bases referred to above, in particular those activities and facilities not provided for remuneration, Article 21(2) TFEU, as a residual legal base, provides for the possibility for the European Union to act and adopt provisions to facilitate the right of EU citizens to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States. Moreover, family members, whichever the(ir) nationality, of a Union citizen exercising his or her right to free movement in accordance with Union rules are assimilated to Union citizens.
•Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)
This proposal fully respects the principle of subsidiarity. The different, interlinked objectives of this proposal cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States independently but can rather, by reason of the scale and effects of the action, be better achieved at EU level. Action at EU level is therefore necessary.
The problems identified have a cross-border dimension that cannot be solved by the Member States on their own. The need for EU action is directly linked to cross-border travel and related challenges faced by persons with disabilities in the EU, thus the need to ensure a coordinated approach among the Member States to facilitate their access to special conditions or preferential treatment on equal terms and conditions with the holders of a disability card or certificate issued by the country being visited.
Absence to act at EU level would likely result in Member States adopting different systems, resulting in continued difficulties with the recognition of disability cards and certificates, as well as of the EU parking card, across borders. Should the EU not intervene, current differences in national disability cards and certificates would likely also increase, and the different treatment of persons with disabilities across the Member States would remain or increase further, with adverse effects on their access to special conditions or preferential treatment in relation to services, activities and facilities, including when provided not for remuneration, which may negatively impact the exercise of their free movement rights.
The initiative does not seek to harmonise the eligibility criteria, conditions, or assessment procedures to obtain a disability status in a Member State, for which Member States remain competent. Therefore, this proposal does not affect Member States’ competences to determine the conditions and procedures when assessing disability status for the purposes of granting a European disability card and in recognising the right to parking conditions and facilities reserved for persons with disabilities and issuing a certificate, disability or parking card for persons with disabilities, or any other formal document, be it at local, regional or national level.
Furthermore, the proposal does not impinge on national competences to determine whether or not to grant special benefits or preferential conditions, such as free access, reduced tariffs, or preferential treatment for persons with disabilities and, where applicable, person(s) accompanying or assisting them. Neither does the proposal impose obligations on private operators or public authorities as to whether to grant preferential conditions. It only ensures that when such special conditions or preferential treatment are granted, these should be available on equal terms and conditions to all persons with disabilities who are holders of a European Disability Card or European Parking Card for persons with disabilities and that the information in that regard is made available in accessible formats using the relevant accessibility requirements for services set in Annex I of Directive 2019/882.
•Proportionality
Regarding the principle of proportionality, the form and content of the proposal does not exceed or go beyond what is necessary and proportionate to achieve its various, interlinked objectives.
General, common rules and a common standardised format/template for both cards are set. However, taking into account national differences, circumstances and practices, the assessment of disability status itself, establishing the necessary procedures to issue the cards and determining the special conditions or preferential treatment for people with disabilities in access to services, activities and facilities, including when provided not for remuneration, are left to the Member States, unless provided otherwise by Union law.
•Choice of the instrument
In line with the identified legal bases, notably Articles 53(1) and 62, in combination with Article 91 TFEU, and Article 21(2) TFEU, a Directive is regarded as the suitable, proportionate, and effective instrument to deliver the different, interlinked objectives of the initiative.
•Stakeholder consultations
An inter-service steering group on the European Disability Card was set up in July 2022 and was actively involved in the preparation of the initiative, including its impact assessment.
In line with the Better Regulation Guidelines, a broad range of international, EU and national stakeholders were consulted, namely (i) those with an interest in the matter (e.g., national public authorities, service providers, NGOs; (ii) potential beneficiaries of the European Disability Card or the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities (e.g., persons with disabilities, personal assistants); and (iii) experts (e.g., researchers, consultancies and advisors, international organisations).
The stakeholder consultation included: (a) a public consultation, (b) strategic and (c) targeted interviews, (d) targeted online surveys, (e) three online workshops, (f) six focus groups with service providers from selected Member States and (g) six case studies. Stakeholders could also send comments on the Commission’s (h) call for evidence 27 .
The majority of the consultation activities were organised by an external contractor as part of a study supporting the preparation of the impact assessment. The Commission also consulted Member States’ authorities and Civil Society Organisations representing persons with disabilities, which are members of the Disability Platform. The discussions in Platform meetings and its specific sub-group on the European Disability Card were key to obtain feedback for fine tuning the proposal.
•Impact assessment
The proposal for a Commission initiative setting the framework, rules and conditions for the issuance and use of the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities is accompanied by an impact assessment report 28 , a draft of which was submitted to the Regulatory Scrutiny Board (RSB) on 21 June 2023. The RSB issued a positive opinion with reservations on 19 July 2023. The impact assessment report was revised in accordance with the Board’s findings and recommendations. The more detailed technical comments of the RSB were also addressed.
The design of options and the decision to discard certain options is strongly based on experience gained under the European Disability Card pilot project and of the experience of the Council Recommendation 98/376/EC of 4 June 1998 on a parking card for people with disabilities, together with feedback received from stakeholders and Member States.
The option of merging the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities into one single card has been considered and then discarded due to a lack of practical and technical feasibility 29 . The two cards have different eligibility criteria, issuance procedure(s), scope and use. Not all holders of a European Disability Card would be holders of a European Parking Card for persons with disabilities. Stakeholders consulted pointed out that merging the two cards would limit the possibility of persons with disabilities to use both cards simultaneously. In practice, the European Parking Card will typically be left and displayed in the vehicle, while the European Disability Card will need to remain with the cardholder. Therefore stakeholders considered that they should be kept as two distinct cards.
The assessment considered policy options aimed at facilitating mutual recognition of disability status in the EU in relation to access to services when visiting another Member State (A) and facilitating use and legal certainty in the use of the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities (B), which, taken together, address the identified challenges.
Several other options such as voluntary arrangements 30 , covering only a selection of services 31 , harmonising the definitions and eligibility criteria for assessing disability status 32 or harmonising the procedures for issuing the relevant cards at EU level, 33 were also discarded.
The preferred option is a combination of policy option A2 (mandatory European Disability Card model in all Member States for travel covering all service sectors) with option B2 (mandatory European Parking Card for persons with disabilities model).
Policy option A2 is the most effective at facilitating the mutual recognition of disability status in relation to access to services when visiting another Member State, as it provides for the creation of the European Disability Card, to be used precisely for that purpose and that can be easily recognised across the Member States. The Card would eliminate uncertainty both for service providers that currently have to check disability status of customers and for persons with disabilities travelling or visiting other Member States.
Policy option B2 is the most effective at facilitating the recognition of the EU parking card. As a binding legislative instrument, it makes mandatory the minimum requirements of the EU common parking card model and its security format and features. The more homogeneous, uniform format for national parking cards would reduce uncertainty linked to their recognition for persons with disabilities, making their lives easier when travelling by car in the EU. This would allow cardholders to travel by car, without uncertainty that their parking card may not be recognised abroad. It would also lead to cost savings for the persons concerned, as they would be able to use public parking slots reserved for persons with disabilities.
The preferred combination of policy options is expected to have positive social impacts and strong positive impacts on ensuring fundamental rights within the EU (notably the right to free movement, non-discrimination and integration of persons with disabilities). The environmental impact of the combined policy options is likely to be small and insignificant in magnitude, while it would entail limited positive digital impacts. The preferred policy options are not expected to have any significant impact on competitiveness and SMEs and expected administrative costs for businesses will be marginal 34 .
•Fundamental rights
The proposal would have a positive impact 35 on several rights recognised in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
By reducing the uncertainty about the recognition of disability cards and parking cards across the EU it would facilitate the effective exercise of free movement rights by persons with disabilities when travelling to or visiting another Member State than the one in which they reside (Article 45 of the Charter).
Having access on equal terms and conditions to special conditions or preferential treatment offered to persons with disabilities to services, activities and facilities, including when provided not for remuneration, as well as parking conditions and facilities reserved for persons with disabilities while travelling to or visiting another Member State should benefit persons with disabilities, ensuring their independence, social integration, and participation in the life of the community (Article 26 of the Charter).
The proposal would contribute to the principles of non-discrimination and equality in access to services (Article 21 of the Charter). Being able to benefit from special conditions or preferential treatment or parking conditions and facilities reserved for persons with disabilities in all Member States on an equal basis with residents who are persons with a disability status recognised in that country, without discrimination on grounds of nationality or place of residence, are important factors determining their choice to use such services.
Establishing a framework of rules and common conditions for both the European Disability Card and European Parking Card for persons with disabilities will also help to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect of their inherent dignity. In turn, this will ensure a more effective and inclusive participation in society of persons with disabilities as envisaged by the UNCRPD.
This proposal implies the processing of personal data, in particular the data concerning the card holder’s disability status. Processing the personal data of individuals, including the collection, access, and use of personal data, affects the right to privacy and the right to protection of personal data under Article 7 and Article 8 of the Charter. Interference with these fundamental rights is necessary and genuinely meets the objective of general interest recognised by the Union law.
As regards the right to the protection of personal data, Member States authorities issuing the cards will be the controllers of the data. Member States should ensure, when implementing this Directive, that their national legislation provides for appropriate safeguards applicable to the processing of personal data, in particular personal data concerning a card holder’s disability status, in line with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council 36 . The Member States should also ensure the security, authenticity and confidentiality of the personal data collected and stored for the purpose of this Directive. Further security measures for personal data may be provided for through an implementing act, when the digital features and digital format will be set up. For the purposes of the proposed Directive, personal data need only to be provided on the physical card and, once its format and specifications have been set, included in the digital card issued.
The proposal has very limited budgetary implications for the EU budget. The only operational costs relate to the organisation of committee and expert group meetings, as well as support for the checks of national transposition measures, i.e. operational appropriation of EUR 0.62 million under existing budget line, as well as administrative expenditure of around EUR 0.342 million per year. This expenditure will entail an internal redeployment of funds with no increase in the amount.
•Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements
In case the proposal is approved, Member States will have to notify to the Commission, within six months after its entry into force, the body (or bodies) designated to issue, renew and withdraw the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities, as well as the conditions for issuing such cards or declaring the cards invalid.
Member States will have to communicate to the Commission all the information necessary for the Commission to draw up its regular report to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the application of the Directive.
•Explanatory documents (for directives)
The proposal does not require any explanatory documents for its transposition into national law.
•Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal
Article 1 describes the subject matter.
Article 2 on scope relates to the material scope and describes which services, activities and facilities, including when provided not for remuneration, are covered. It reiterates that Member States remain competent to assess disability status and to issue the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities, to determine the procedures for issuing them respecting the common elements provided for in Articles 6 and 7, and to decide whether or not to grant special benefits or specific, special conditions or preferential treatment for persons with disabilities and, where applicable, person(s) accompanying or assisting them. It also clarifies the subject matter by excluding social security benefits.
Article 3 contains key definitions.
Article 4 lists the beneficiaries, while Article 5 provides for equal access to special conditions or preferential treatment for holders of the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities and person(s) accompanying or assisting them, including those recognised as personal assistant(s) in accordance with national legislation or practices.
Articles 6 and 7 set out the format, procedures and administrative formalities for the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities respectively. They relate to the introduction and validity of the cards and set out the respective formats that are included in Annexes. Both articles empower the Commission to adopt delegated acts to set out detailed provisions on the digitalisation of the Cards.
Article 8 provides for the possibility to adopt common technical specifications to further specify the format of the cards as well as the format of future digital elements.
Article 9 sets out the relevant provisions for surveillance, compliance and accessible information with respect to the use of the card, including in the case of risk of forgery or fraud.
Article 10 requires Member States to identify the competent authorities that will issue the cards.
Articles 11 and 12 set out the rules and procedures for the exercise of delegation by the Commission and the implementing acts set out in articles 6, 7 and 8.
Articles 13 and 14 relate to enforcement and penalties, allowing organisations representing persons with disabilities and other public bodies with legitimate interests also to take action to ensure compliance with the Directive. Penalties should be accompanied by remedial action, as it is important to remedy problems encountered in the use of the cards and to take steps for future improvement.
Article 15 contains accompanying measures for access to information and awareness raising, including accessibility of the information.
Article 16 relates to reporting and review and obligations for the first and subsequent reports on the application of the Directive.
Article 17 stipulates that the current European parking card for persons with disabilities recommendation shall become obsolete and ceases to apply.
Articles 18 and 19 provide for transposition and entry into force.
Annexes I and II describe respectively the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities, and set out their format and design.