Professor Steen Bengtsson (ANED country expert Denmark) gave an overview of evidence of national policy trends and challenges over time.

In terms of national employment policy, prior to 1990 there was mass unemployment for Danish people with disabilities, and little active state support. Substantial developments took place during the 1990s, including permanent wage support, ‘flex’ jobs, the law on disabled persons in employment, personal assistant and an ice breaker scheme.  

Since 2008, one of ANED’s tasks has been to map the areas of European Union law and policy that have a direct relevance to disabled people and disabling barriers. This includes both ‘hard’ law instruments that require actions or compliance by the EU institutions or Member States, and ‘soft’ policy instruments that encourage or co-ordinate actions towards greater accessibility, participation and equality. In 2010, the existing mapping documents were reviewed and updated to reflect recent changes and new developments. The updated mapping documents are now available:

Annotated review of European Union law and policy with reference to disability - DOC 956 kB

European Law and Policy: Annotation of Selected Legal Instruments- DOC 637 kB

This section of the website will be developed to include direct access to the most relevant official documents and analytical summaries on key policy areas. This will include ‘disability targeted legislation' (of which there is relatively little at the European level), non-discrimination legislation and non-specific (mainstream) legislation, where disability may be included.