Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities commenced the EU Disability Card project in 2016 together with its partner, the National Council of Slovenian Organisations of Persons with Disabilities. EU Disability Card has been available since July 2017. Persons with disabilities can apply for the card in any of 58 administrative units across the country.
EU Disability Card entitles persons with disabilities in EU to commercial and other benefits offered in each country with cards being mutually recognized between EU member states. At this point the project includes the following countries: Slovenia, Cyprus, Belgium, Italy, Romania, Estonia and Malta, but all EU member states are intended to enter the project.
Just like a Slovenian card holder can use the card in other EU states, foreign card holders visiting Slovenia for a shorter or longer period can use the card in this country. EU Disability Card entitles them to commercial benefits in diverse areas of life, especially in accessibility of transport, tourism, culture, sport and leisure.
Organisations and services they are offering are available on: http://invalidska-kartica.si and via application available for mobile devices on iTunes and Google Play, respectively.
EU Disability Card is regulated in the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities Act, which defines eligibility criteria for the applicants and the procedure of obtaining the card. The act was amended in the national parliament on 21 June 2017.
The aim of the project is primarily to facilitate a more equal treatment and specific benefits when traveling to other EU member states, especially when it comes to accessibility of transport, tourism, culture, sport and leisure, and in this way to contribute to implementation of UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Republic of Slovenia was among the first countries to ratify in 2008, Action Plan for Persons with Disabilities 2014-2021 and European Disability Strategy 2010-2020.
This project is a collaboration of the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (MDDSZEN) and the National Council of Slovenian Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (NSIOS), as well as collaboration with the Ministry of Public Administration and Administrative Units (UE) in Slovenia, which issue the EU Disability Card to applicants.
During the operation from July 2021 until the end of 2022, the EU Disability Card has proven to be a very useful instrument enabling person with disabilities who are EU Disability Card holders to claim a range of benefits from different providers participating in the operation, especially in the fields of transport, tourism, culture, sports, and leisure time. This meant the decision to carry on promoting the EU Disability Card and make it available to as many card holders as well as benefit providers as possible, was an easy one.
The objective of the operation “Improving access to products and services with a EU Disability Card” (hereinafter: operation) is to contribute to a greater social inclusion of people with various forms of disabilities and utilize the benefits to help decrease the risk of poverty for people with disabilities.
Apart from providing benefits to persons with disabilities, the entire EU Disability Project is also raising awareness about persons with disabilities, their abilities, needs, wishes, way of life and especially that persons with disabilities are people who travel and in doing so experience personal growth, like everyone else. Therefore, positive effects of EU Disability Card certainly include a higher rate of social inclusion of persons with disabilities, not only in their home country, but also abroad as the card entitles them to benefits while traveling.
The operation has greatly contributed to a better quality of life for people with disabilities who are often marginalized due to smaller income, but with your help, the standard of awareness about the needs of vulnerable groups, which includes people with disabilities, has also been raised. EU Disability Card benefit providers play a crucial role in this.
The providers decide to join the list of EU Disability Card benefit providers of their own volition, and they also determine themselves what kind of benefits they wish to offer card holders. The benefits can take the form of discounts on services and products the providers offer as part of their regular commercial activities. This gives card holders the opportunity to get the services or products at a reduced price and the service provider can make a good impression and attract new clients from among the card holders. The benefit provider’s data is entered into the database by the administrator of the website and mobile application.
The value of the operation consists of the website and mobile app redesigns, promotions, seminars for cardholders and benefit providers, and the analysis of the physical and online accessibility of the benefit providers. These included labour costs, awareness raising and information costs, and the costs of outsourced services. The investment has brought a range of effects and benefits that cannot be evaluated with a monetary value, but are nonetheless priceless for the advancement of society in general.
More on the project is available on the website of the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities: http://www.mddsz.gov.si/en/
Frequent question and answers are available on: http://www.invalidska-kartica.si/pogosta-vprasanja.
Should you be unable to find the answer to your question there, feel free to send you query to us via the contact form on: http://www.invalidska-kartica.si/kontakt