The Transition from Institutional Care to Community Living in the EU: Lessons Learned in the Shadows of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore the many inequalities encountered by persons with disabilities in all spheres of life. In institutional settings, the pandemic has not only resulted in increased risks of isolation and exploitation, but it has also caused a disproportionate number of deaths among inhabitants of residential institutions and group homes. Th is has underlined the increased urgency to promote the transition from institutional care to community living globally and at the European Union (EU, the Union) level. Following the conclusion by the EU, in 2010, of the 2006 United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) – which has since been ratifi ed by all EU Member States – the Union adopted several legal and policy instruments promoting the transition away from institutional care. Th ose instruments sought to ensure compliance with Article 19 CRPD (on living independently and being included in the community). Arguably the most prominent example of the EU ’ s commitment to deinstitutionalisation is embodied in the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF, or Funds) 2014–2020, which have very recently been replaced by new measures for the programming period 2021–2027. However, concerns about the use of the ESIF have been raised by the Council of Europe ’ s Human Rights Commissioner and the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, among others. United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteurs have also drawn attention to the fact that the European Commission has authorised national projects whereby the ESIF have been used to continue practices of institutionalisation and segregation. Furthermore, the European Ombudsman has invited the European Commission to address the lack of an appropriate legal basis to ensure that the spending of EU Funds complies with the CRPD. Th e COVID-19 crisis has not only highlighted the structural challenges pertaining to institutional and social care systems in the EU, but it has also exacerbated the diffi culty in monitoring the use of EU Funds, particularly in emergency situations. Against this background, this contribution critically analyses the response of the EU institutions to the pandemic, including the two key Coronavirus Response Investment Initiatives (CRII and CRII + ), and the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021–2030. Moreover, this contribution refl ects on the potential of the EU crisis recovery initiatives to represent either an extraordinary occasion or a missed opportunity to accelerate the transition to community living, depending on the implementation and monitoring mechanisms put in place in respect of post-2020 EU policies.