Uguaglianza nella diversità? La tutela accordata alle persone con disabilità tra ordinamento europeo e internazionale

This contribution examines the level of protection effectively provided to people with disabilities within the EU, focusing on the interplay between the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and EU law. On one hand, there is specific attention to the inclusion of people with disabilities in the context of the internal market. On the other hand, social and inclusive aspects remain primarily regulated by soft law. The CRPD plays a crucial role in combating disability discrimination in Europe. It has solidified legal concepts like reasonable accommodation and has influenced the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of Justice. Despite progress in legal protections against discrimination, a key question remains: Is the legal and jurisprudential framework enough, or do we need a complementary cultural approach that significantly influences collective perceptions and mindsets? As a result, the EU motto ‘Unity in Diversity’ has to be reinterpreted in the light of equality, which is already enshrined in Union law under Article 2 TEU and reflected in the CRPD.