The European Commission adopted, on Wednesday 7 June, a communication on a “comprehensive approach to mental health” containing a number of concrete initiatives and actions to tackle the problems associated with mental health.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, mental health problems already affected around 84 million people in the EU, a situation which has worsened over the past years with a cost of non-action amounting to €600 billion every year, or more than 4% of the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to this Communication.
The European Commission Vice-President responsible for promoting the European Way of Life, Margarítis Schinás, spoke to the press on Wednesday about a “comprehensive, anthropocentric” approach to mental health at EU level.
According to the Vice-President, the figures speak for themselves: - mental health problems affect one in six people in the EU; - loneliness affects around a quarter of the population (22-26%) in the EU; - suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people (after road accidents).
“Addressing mental health is therefore both a social and an economic imperative. For all these reasons, non-action is simply not an option”, insisted Mr Schinás.
This Communication, which includes concrete actions, represents the final key piece in the architecture of the European Health Union.
“Today we are highlighting the importance of mental health and we are asking people to seek help. Today we are presenting yet another building block of a strong European Health Union that places health as a priority for all its citizens. And there is no health without mental health” , said the Commissioner for Health, Stella Kyriakides.
She pointed out that the Commission had released more than €1.2 billion in European funding for mental health promotion activities.
The approach adopted “begins with prevention and early intervention”, added Ms Kyriakides.
Among the important initiatives in this area, the Commissioner cited a ‘European Depression and Suicide Prevention Initiative’ will provide “targeted support for those who need help. With the support from stakeholders, “we will also create a European Code for Mental Health to empower people to take better care of themselves, and their loved ones”.
She pointed out that it is vulnerable groups such as children, adolescents, young people, the elderly, refugees, displaced persons and migrants who suffer most from mental health problems.
Depression among young people has more than doubled in recent years.
In 2024, the Commission will contribute to the establishment of a ‘child and youth mental health network’ and the development of a prevention toolkit, “showing how important it is for mental and physical health to go hand in hand”.
The Commissioner also called for a safer and healthier digital space for children, as cyberbullying is all too common.
As part of the ‘Healthy Screens, Healthy Youth Initiative’, the Commission will provide stricter guidelines on the protection of minors in the digital world and, through the Horizon Europe cancer mission, it will create a platform for young cancer survivors to help them boost their mental health.
Mental health support will also be provided to people affected by conflicts, such as internally displaced people in Ukraine, particularly children, whose lives have been torn apart by the horrors of war.
Mental health at work. The communication contains a major section on mental health in the workplace. Stress and burnout contribute to around half of all lost working days, says Stella Kyriakides. “This is not unacceptable. Going to work should not make you ill”.
This is why the Commission will be presenting an EU-level initiative on psychosocial risks, after carrying out a peer review and consulting the social partners.
The Commission will also support EU-wide awareness-raising campaigns run by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), particularly on the theme of ‘Safe and Healthy Work in the Digital Age’ and on psychosocial risks and mental health at work, with a focus on new and neglected occupations. “We will also continue to support social partners in their endeavour to negotiate a new agreement on telework and the right to disconnect”, the Commissioner promised.
Maria Walsh MEP (EPP, Irish) told EUROPE on Wednesday that the Communication was “an important step towards more action on improving mental health in the EU”. The horizontal and holistic approach proposed by the Commission is “a great starting point”.
Ms Walsh praised the actions targeting vulnerable groups and young people, and mental health in the workplace. “In the future, I would like to see an EU wide campaign to fight the stigma surrounding mental health, not only national measures on the subject. The Commission should give an overview of the health systems’ capacities in the Member States for dealing with issues of mental health”, said the MEP.
Link to the communication: https://aeur.eu/f/7aw (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)