Strasburgo – On Wednesday afternoon plenary in Strasbourg debated on the “Silent crisis: the mental health of Europe’s youth”. According to the WHO, mental health conditions affect 150 million citizens and are the leading cause of years lived with disability in the European Union. An increase in mental health problems means that this could be the next health crisis, which is why MEPs call for concrete actions.
Tomislav Sokol MEP, the EPP Group’s spokesman in the Parliament’s Committee on Public Health, said “Mental health is the defining challenge of our time, especially for young people. The World Health Organisation reports that one in seven adolescents between 10 and 19 has a mental disorder, and suicide is now the second leading cause of death among EU youth. These numbers are alarming. The EPP Group – pointed out the EPP MEP – is committed to making mental healthcare as accessible as physical healthcare. We need a strong approach on mental health—ensuring better access to health care, increasing education on early detection, and eradicating stigma. Investing in research and data-sharing will help us move from crisis management to prevention”.
EPP Sunčana Glavak MEP addedgiu “One contributing factor to the mental health crisis among young people is the increasing use of online communication instead of face-to-face conversations. The digital world doesn’t just connect us — it often becomes a space for ongoing violence, just a click away from victims. Cyberbullying and silent mental health crisis of Europe’s youth are urgent societal challenges that require urgent attention, systematic support and destigmatization”.
The European Parliament has consistently supported the promotion of good mental health and the need to put mental health at the heart of EU policymaking, through numerous opinions, studies, debates, hearings, written questions and own-initiative resolutions. On December 2023, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on mental health, following the Commission’s communication of 7 June 2023. The rapporteur, S&D Sara Cerdas MEP, stated that “More than talk, we need action on mental health, and the European Parliament is therefore preparing its first report on mental health on this very important subject. But this cannot, and should not, be an individual battle. It is a social battle that cannot be ignored. A social transformation is urgent. As representatives of the approximately 450 million European citizens, we have a duty not only to warn but to act. And we need more”.
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