Mental health disorders were already affecting some 84 million people in the EU even before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Worries, anxieties and feelings of depression caused by the devastating effects of the pandemic, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the climate crisis, unemployment and rising living costs, the pressures of the digital sphere and social media, all have exacerbated the already poor levels of mental health, especially for children and young people. Today the CoR NAT Commission adopted an opinion on 'Mental Health' which will contribute to the European Commission's Communication on a comprehensive approach to mental health.
"Mental health is just as important as physical health, and this should go hand in hand with adequate funding. This is vital due to widespread challenges with mental health across Europe. We should pay particular attention to improving the alarming situation among children and young people, as well as groups that are particularly vulnerable to social exclusion and face discrimination." said Mieczysław Struk, the EPP-CoR Rapporteur for the opinion.
Local authorities have a crucial role to play in managing mental health services. Therefore, while welcoming the Commission's intention to provide adequate support to each EU Member State through technical assistance and capacity building for the transfer and implementation of best practices, the CoR calls on the Commission and Member States to extend this offer to regional authorities, as they are largely responsible for subsequently implementing solutions at local/regional level. The CoR opinion also calls on local and regional authorities to share examples of innovative or promising projects from their areas.
Struk who serves as President of the Pomorskie Region said "Mental health requires a holistic approach and is not limited to health policy alone. Preventive action should be taken, for example through the development of social services, better access to education, culture or green spaces." Struk's opinion outlines that there is very limited, and sometimes even lack of, access to up-to-date regional data on mental health, which in turn makes it difficult to develop and implement prevention programmes or measures to improve access to essential healthcare. The CoR therefore calls on the European Commission to prioritise the collection of standardised local data in order to identify health needs in the regions.
