This position paper (PDF) underscores the important role EU funds play in shaping care systems across Europe.

With over 1.5 million people still living in institutional setting – including children, people with disabilities and people experiencing homelessness – EU funding decisions directly impact their rights, inclusion, and well-being.

The paper presents:

• examples of EU funding that has supported the transition from institutional to community-based care;
• examples where EU money has been used to build, renovate or maintain institutions, thereby reinforcing segregation and undermining the EU’s human rights obligations.

The EEG argues that EU funds must not:

• Be used to build or maintain institutions in any form,
• Support transinstitutionalisation,
• Be distributed without proper monitoring or regard for past misuse.

Instead, EU funds must:

• Prioritise services that enable independent living and inclusion,
• Prohibit any investment in institutional settings,
• Enforce strong monitoring with clear sanctions for misuse,
• Be tied to national or regional DI strategies with clear data, timelines, and budget shifts,
• Fund sustainable alternatives like personal assistance, inclusive housing, family support, and access to mainstream services,
• Involve people affected by institutionalisation in all stages of funding decisions.

Download here: For better use of EU funding to foster the transition from institutional to community-based care (PDF)