On Tuesday 7 November, the members of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Public Health adopted their recommendations aimed at fleshing out the mental health strategy presented by the European Commission (see EUROPE 13268/15).
The draft report by Sara Cerdas (S&D, Portuguese) was adopted by the European Parliament’s Environment Committee with 59 votes in favour, 6 against and 4 abstentions. MEPs call on the Commission to develop a long-term, comprehensive and integrated European strategy on mental health. National governments are asked to develop corresponding national strategies with clear timetables, adequate budgets, concrete targets and indicators to monitor progress.
A mental health approach in all policies is needed to prevent, treat and mitigate the impact of mental health conditions, according to these MEPs. They advise Member States to improve access to mental health services for vulnerable groups, such as children, adolescents, young adults, LGBTQIA+ people, patients with chronic illnesses and disabilities, older people, migrants and ethnic minorities.
Place of work. The draft report as adopted recognises the important role that the workplace can play in promoting good mental health and acknowledges that “healthy working conditions can have a positive impact on physical and mental health, well-being and productivity”. The Member States are asked to identify the specific needs of workers in terms of psychological care and to respond to them “through dedicated instruments tailored to their distinct needs, including through occupational medicine”.
Link to the compromise amendments on mental health: https://aeur.eu/f/9ek
Non-communicable diseases. By adopting (63 votes in favour, 2 against and 5 abstentions) the draft report by Erik Poulsen (Renew Europe, Danish), which will be voted on in December by the European Parliament (like that of Ms Cerdas), the MEPs on this committee are calling for stronger EU action in the fight against non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
MEPs propose actions to prevent and reduce the prevalence of NCDs in the EU in order to reduce the burden on healthcare systems and on citizens’ quality of life (see EUROPE 13238/10). MEPs stress that prevention is essential in the fight against non-communicable diseases. They stress the need to tackle the main factors that significantly increase the risk of NCDs, including smoking, physical inactivity, harmful alcohol consumption, unhealthy diets, environmental factors, UV radiation and exposure to chemicals. In particular, they call on the Commission to implement as a matter of urgency the proposal restricting ‘lifetime chemicals’ (per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances or PFAS), which can lead to serious illnesses such as obesity, diabetes and cancer.
Link to the compromise amendments on NTMs: https://aeur.eu/f/9ej (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)