Joint Letter: 25 organisations call for a separate European Parliament Own-Initiative Report on Mental Health

Joint letter to MEP Adam Jarubas, Chair of the EP Committee on Public Health (SANT)

25 organisations call for a separate European Parliament Own-Initiative Report on Mental Health

16 March 2026

Dear Chair Jarubas,

Dear Coordinators,

We, the undersigned civil society organisations, representing organisations working across public health, social inclusion, disability rights, children and youth, and ageing populations, welcome the European Parliament’s initiative to prepare an own-initiative report on an EU Mental Health Strategy.

However, we are concerned by discussions suggesting that this report could be merged with an upcoming own-initiative report on neurological or brain health. We respectfully call on the European Parliament to maintain a separate report on mental health, ensuring that it remains a visible and distinct priority within the EU policy agenda.

Mental health challenges affect one in six Europeans, or around 84 million people. Among young people the situation is particularly alarming: nearly half report unmet mental healthcare needs, and suicide remains one of the leading causes of death among people aged 15–29. Beyond the profound human cost, poor mental health is estimated to cost the European economy more than €600 billion annually, representing over 4% of GDP.

For the communities many of our organisations represent (including children and young people, persons with disabilities, patients and their families, carers, psychologists, psychiatrists, doctors, migrants, students, women organisations, Roma communities, persons experiencing homelessness and older persons) mental health is closely linked to social inequalities, discrimination, poverty, housing, education and employment conditions. Addressing these challenges requires action that goes beyond healthcare, focusing on prevention, social determinants, community-based support and rights-based approaches, in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

The European Parliament has played an important leadership role in advancing this vision. The 2023 own-initiative report on the EU Mental Health Strategy, together with the establishment of the first-ever Intergroup on Mental Health, recognised mental health as a cross-cutting societal issue and helped place it firmly on the EU policy agenda. Maintaining a clear parliamentary focus on mental health will be important to ensure that the ambition already set by the Parliament continues to guide the next phase of EU action.

While the links between neurological and mental health conditions are well recognised, merging the two initiatives risks narrowing the scope of the debate and shifting the focus primarily towards biomedical aspects, at the expense of prevention, psychosocial support and social inclusion, while limiting the policy levers for EU actions on mental health. Maintaining separate reports would allow the Parliament to strengthen both agendas, while avoiding the risk of diluting the comprehensive approach to mental health that it has championed in recent years.

At a time when needs are increasing and mental health systems remain significantly under-resourced, strong political leadership from the European Parliament is more important than ever. Any step that reduces the visibility of mental health within the EU policy agenda risks slowing the progress achieved in recent years.

We therefore respectfully encourage the Committee on Public Health (SANT) to maintain a separate own-initiative report on mental health and continue building on the progress already made in advancing a comprehensive EU mental health agenda.

Yours sincerely,

1. Mental Health Europe
2. GAMIAN-Europe
3. European Regional and Local Health Authorities (EUREGHA)
4. Make Mothers Matter
5. European Federation of Associations of Families of People with Mental Illness (EUFAMI)
6. European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations (EFPA)
7. Eurochild
8. European Public Health Alliance (EPHA)
9. EuroHealthNet
10. Missing Children Europe
11. Eurodiaconia
12. COFACE Families Europe
13. Autism-Europe
14. European Platform for Rehabilitation (EPR)
15. Save the Children
16. Learning for well-being Foundation
17. Alliance for Childhood European Network
18. The Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME)
19. European Parents’ Association (EPA)
20. European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (EPSA)
21. AGE Platform Europe
22. European Network of (Ex-)Users and Survivors of Psychiatry (ENUSP)
23. European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless (FEANTSA)
24. European Roma Grassroots Organisations (ERGO) Network
25. European Disability Forum (EDF)