Revolutions of 1989 needed Western technology and credits to make up for its increasing backwardness. The costs of maintaining its military, the KGB, subsidies to foreign client states etc., further strained the moribund Soviet economy. The first signs of major reform came in 1986 when Gorbachev launched a policy of "glasnost" (openness) in the Soviet Union, and emphasized the need for "perestroika" (economic restructuring). By the spring of 1989, the Soviet Union had not only experienced lively media debate, but had also held its first multi-candidate elections in the newly established Congress of People's Deputies. While glasnost ostensibly advocated openness and political criticism,
European Union disability policy European Union disability policy The European Union policy for disabled people guarantees governmental responsibility for all disabled people in all of EU's member states. This policy operates in the framework of the subsidiarity principle: if possible, one should improve at the national level, though in principle the EU will refrain from setting hefty laws in this area. Through the activities of the Council of Europe and the United Nations, the EU disability policy has since been in effect in many EU countries for years. During World War I, the disability protection system in Europe covered only war veterans and soldiers,