MEPs expressed widespread concern about the general mental health of young Europeans due to the lockdown and restrictions created by the health measures to combat the pandemic, during a plenary session exchange on Thursday afternoon, 20 January, on the occasion of the European Year of Youth.
Dragoş Pîslaru (Renew Europe, Romania), on behalf of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), started the debate by sounding the alarm that by 2021, the second most common cause of death among young Europeans would be suicide.
“And still, we do not treat mental health seriously enough at EU Member State level, and the risk that we face is not that of a lockdown generation, but that of a lost generation indeed”, he warned. This diagnosis was made by most of the speakers on behalf of their political group, with the exception of the extreme right, which focused on the issue of immigration.
In the other two institutions, there was consensus. The European Commission, through its Vice-President Věra Jourová, acknowledged that the issue of mental health should be a “priority” for the European Union. The French Secretary of State to the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, responsible for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, agreed that this issue was “indeed essential”.
Elżbieta Rafalska (ECR, Poland), for her part, stressed the particular condition of young people with disabilities, those from large families, and young people in rural areas.
Unpaid internships
The issue of the precariousness of young people was on everyone’s lips. Several MEPs criticised the practice of unpaid internships, such as Kim van Sparrentak (Greens/EFA, Netherlands).
The European Commission was silent on the issue. Mr Beaune recalled that this was a national prerogative. “But I would point out that several Member States, including France, have moved in recent years to have this remuneration obligation written into our laws”, he added.
Affordable housing
Chris MacManus (The Left, Ireland) denounced the soaring housing prices that are undermining young people and their prospects. “The advocating of vulture funds and similar financial vehicles means that young families and single young people simply cannot compete with billion-dollar funds buying up what little homes there are”, he said. On this point, the European Commission and the French Presidency of the EU Council have remained silent. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)