A new report on the European Semester – European Semester 2025 mainstreaming disability equality – published on 19 March 2026, provides further evidence that deinstitutionalisation must remain a priority in EU policies and funding.
The report highlights several issues that are directly relevant to our work, including the need to strengthen community-based services, ensure that EU funds support inclusion rather than segregation, and use country-specific findings to inform targeted advocacy and reform.
For EEG, this is an important reminder that EU economic and social governance cannot be separated from the transition away from institutions. Decisions taken through the European Semester and related funding processes have a direct impact on whether people can live in the community with the support they need.
The report also includes country-level findings that can be useful for advocacy at national and EU level, particularly when arguing for stronger safeguards and better use of EU funding to support community-based care.
EEG welcomes this report as another useful piece of evidence for the ongoing work to ensure that EU funding supports independent living, community-based services, and the transition away from institutional care.
EEG. The European Expert Group on the transition from institutions to community-based support 