What is EUD?

The European Union of the Deaf (EUD) was founded in 1985 by 5 national deaf associations who wanted to make sure that the voice of Deaf people were heard in the European Union. They also wanted to take part in European programmes to exchange information and work together to improve the situation of Deaf people in Europe.

EUD is a European non-governmental and non-profit making organisation. In 2003 EUD counts 15 Full members and 2 Affiliate members. It is expected that with the enlargement of the European Union, the Full membership of EUD will also expand to 20-25 members, parallel with the accession of new member states from Central and Eastern Europe into the EU. Elsewhere on our website you will see a list of EUD members and links to their homepages.

EUD is the only organisation which represents and defends the interests of Deaf people at European Union level. To this end EUD maintains good contacts with the European Commission and the European Parliament. Recently EUD has applied for consultative status with the Council of Europe to be able to influence policy developed by the Council of Europe.

EUD publishes a monthly newsletter, "EUD Update" which informs about developments in the institutions of the European Union, the EU member states, and relevant developments in the field of deafness and disability. These are disseminated by e-mail/post and are also published on the EUD website, which can be visited at this address: www.eudnet.org.