On the eve of World Mental Health Day, a new Eurobarometer survey on mental health has revealed that nine in ten respondents (89%) consider that mental health promotion is as important as physical health promotion. At the same time, less than half of respondents agree that people with mental health issues receive the same level of care as those with a physical condition. Moreover, according to the survey, almost half of respondents (46%) experienced emotional or psychosocial problems, such as feeling depressed or anxious, in the past twelve months. And more than half of these respondents (54%) have not received help from a professional. Stella Kyriakides, EU Commissioner for Health, will host a high-level conference on mental health, building on the “Comprehensive Approach to Mental Health” presented by the Commission in June 2023. The event will be attended by Her Majesty the Queen of the Belgians, and by hundreds of representatives from EU institutions, national governments, European organisations and other interested partners.

The Eurobarometer survey published today confirms that recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, the climate crisis, and other societal and economic pressures “have exacerbated the already poor levels of mental health in Europe”. Before the pandemic, “one in six people in the EU suffered from mental health issues and the situation has worsened. Most respondents (26,501 people aged 15 and over, interviewed last June) replied that recent world events have influenced their mental health “somewhat” (44%) or “to a great extent” (18%).