Debašu stenogramma

Ceturtdiena, 2022. gada 7. aprīlis - Strasbūra

9. Garīgā veselība (debates)

  Der Präsident. – Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die Aussprache über die Erklärung der Kommission zur psychischen Gesundheit (2022/2619(RSP)).

Ich erinnere Sie daran, dass mit Ausnahme der ersten beiden Reihen, die für die Fraktionsvorsitzenden vorgesehen sind, freie Sitzplatzwahl besteht.

Nachdem Sie Ihre Abstimmungskarte in das Abstimmungsgerät eingeschoben haben, können Sie dann über Ihr Abstimmungsgerät spontane Wortmeldungen und blaue Karten beantragen.

Ich weise Sie auch darauf hin, dass Wortmeldungen im Plenarsaal weiterhin vom zentralen Rednerpult aus erfolgen, außer spontanen Wortmeldungen, blauen Karten und Bemerkungen zur Anwendung der Geschäftsordnung.

  Věra Jourová, Vice-President of the Commission. – Mr President, I am extremely pleased to join you today to discuss mental health, which is a precious, essential, but also a vulnerable, good that we must all cherish and protect.

Sadly, two major crises have starkly reminded us of that: the COVID—19 pandemic and Russia’s unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine. The brutal invasion of Ukraine has heaped suffering on its innocent people. Over four million people have already been forced to flee their country, leaving homes and loved ones behind. We are also extremely concerned at the psychological consequences of the invasion, especially on children and other vulnerable groups. We are therefore determined and are undertaking various immediate actions so as to offer them the right multi-level support to meet their mental health and well-being needs.

In the past few weeks my colleague, Stella Kyriakides, has visited centres for refugees in Poland, Helsinki and also in my home country of Czechia. In the centre of Poland, Ms Kyriakides witnessed over 8000 people, many of them children, who were sitting in silence. They were experiencing a collective trauma after suddenly having lost everything, the kind of trauma you and I can barely imagine. That’s why we are taking actions and measures and, at the same time, exploring new ways to support the mental health needs of refugees from Ukraine with all our means.

Some of these include training courses and e-learning modules on migration and health, which are available in many languages on our health policy platform and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control website. They build on our experience of meeting migrant and refugee needs in 2015.

The Commission is also in touch with Mental Health Europe and several of their member organisations to understand and better respond to the complex challenges on the ground. In addition, under the EU4Health programme, we are intensely working on an agreement with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to provide direct trauma treatment and mental health support on the ground. We will launch a call for proposals this month to implement best practices on the mental health of migrants and refugees so that we can support Ukrainian refugees.

Meanwhile, we also know that the ongoing COVID—19 pandemic will affect the mental health of our citizens for years to come. Since the start of the pandemic, we have taken a range of specific actions to support stakeholders, exchange knowledge and encourage best practice. Let me give you some examples.

The 2021 EU Health Award will reward community—based initiatives, alleviating the mental health impact of COVID—19. The award ceremony on 4 May will pay tribute to several outstanding actions and actors. In the same area, a call under the EU4Health programme to implement best practices tackling mental health challenges during COVID—19 closed on 25 January. Up to EUR 750 000 is available to help roll out two practices. Work on the ground is due to start in the autumn.

Mental health is a prominent and recurrent theme in the Commission’s support for Member States. We have translated our concern into action and ramped up our support for health ministries and stakeholders. Last year saw the start of two major EU funded actions. In the first, ten Member States are working together on best practice around preventing depression. In the second, 21 Member States are working together on suicide prevention and community—based mental health services. The Commission’s financial support totals EUR 7 million.

In February, to mark the European Year of Youth, we launched a call for proposals for two best practices, each with a EU 4 million grant, to support the mental health of vulnerable children and young people. This year’s EU4Health work programme also provides for a EUR 1 million direct grant to the age adapted WHO Regional Office for Europe to provide capacity—building support for Member States through training and cross—national learning.

As announced in the EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2021—27, the Commission is also assessing emerging issues related to workers’ mental health, in particular due to the digitalisation of the labour market. By cooperating with Member States and social partners, the Commission aims to develop guidance for action to address relevant challenges.

Given the need for awareness-raising and exchange of good practices on psycho-social risks at work, the European Union Information Agency for Occupational Safety and Health will launch a ‘healthy workplaces’ campaign for the years 2023—25 on creating a safe and healthy digital future, covering in particular psychosocial risks.

Honourable Members, these initiatives are not a one—off. They show we are stepping up our efforts on mental health and we won’t stop there. Further actions will be included under the Commission’s new Healthier Together Initiative to help Member States reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases. Mental health has also been reflected quite strongly in the discussions that took place in the Conference on the Future of Europe.

  Tomislav Sokol, u ime kluba PPE. – Poštovani predsjedavajući, povjerenice, kolegice i kolege, mentalni poremećaji predstavljaju jedan od najvećih javnozdravstvenih izazova. Njihova rasprostranjenost, opterećenje koje uzrokuju za zdravstvene sustave, ukazuju na nužnost djelovanja na više razina. 2018. otprilike 13,5 posto svih bolničkih kreveta u EU-u bili su kreveti za psihijatrijsku njegu, a ovaj postupak se zasigurno povećao tijekom pandemije.

Znanstvenici ističu da su mentalni problemi često izraženiji uzrok obolijevanja i preranog umiranja nego tjelesne bolesti. Taj podatak ukazuje na potrebu ulaganja u mentalno zdravlje, uključujući rano otkrivanje i liječenje poremećaja, čime se doprinosi dobrobiti i gospodarskoj koristi pojedinaca i društva.

Pandemija COVID-19 i gospodarska kriza koja je uslijedila predstavljale su veliki teret za mentalno stanje građana, naročito za mlade ljude i osobe iz skupina s nižim dohotkom. Naši građani osjećali su neizvjesnost, promjenu svakodnevne rutine, strah za egzistenciju te socijalnu izolaciju. Sukladno podacima Svjetske zdravstvene organizacije, u prvoj godini pandemije broj slučajeva anksioznosti i depresije porastao je za ogromnih 25 posto, što je izrazito zabrinjavajuće. Zaštita mentalnog zdravlja stoga treba biti prioritet Europske unije naročito u svjetlu pandemije, ali i posljedica rata u Ukrajini, posebno za velik broj izbjeglica iz te zemlje.

Ono što bih posebno istaknuo je da nam je potrebna zajednička strategija za mentalno zdravlje na tragu Europskog plana za borbu protiv raka. Nužno je da se na europskoj razini poveća učinkovitost i dostupnost sustava zaštite mentalnog zdravlja. Moramo poticati interdisciplinarnu suradnju, kao i povećanje integracije zaštite mentalnog zdravlja u primarnu zdravstvenu zaštitu. To će pridonijeti razvoju zdravstvenih usluga koje pružaju usmjereniju i koordiniranu skrb osobama s mentalnim poremećajima. Također, potrebna je uspostava mreža za razmjenu znanja za učinkovitu provedbu najboljih praksi.

Zaključno, istaknuo bih nužnost većeg ulaganja od strane država članica, ali i Europske unije u mentalno zdravlje odnosno programe zaštite i unapređenja mentalnog zdravlja, naročito kod djece i mladih. Hvala lijepa.

  Sara Cerdas, em nome do Grupo S&D. – Senhor Presidente, Senhora Vice-Presidente, Colegas, na União Europeia, os problemas de saúde mental afetam mais de 80 milhões de pessoas e o suicídio é a segunda causa de morte entre os jovens dos 15 aos 29 anos. A saúde mental é então um problema do presente que compromete irreversivelmente o futuro da União.

Se os dados mostram algumas melhorias na atualização da legislação sobre saúde mental nos diferentes Estados-Membros, os níveis de implementação ainda deixam muito a desejar. É, por isso, necessário melhorar hoje o acesso aos serviços de saúde mental na comunidade e investir no desenvolvimento de políticas multissetoriais que reconheçam a natureza multifatorial da doença mental. Precisamos de recolhas padronizadas de dados, de serviços de saúde que deem resposta aos problemas de saúde mental e de políticas baseadas na melhor evidência científica. É também, acima de tudo, essencial, combater o estigma e a exclusão social e laboral de todos os que sofrem com a doença mental.

E a Covid-19 ainda trouxe mais urgência a esta temática, nós sabemos. E, como o meu colega anteriormente referiu, a prevalência global de ansiedade e depressão aumentou em 25% relativamente a dados pré-pandémicos. Durante a pandemia, os serviços foram interrompidos, a telemedicina acentuou, em alguns casos, as desigualdades digitais pré— existentes e dificultou a acessibilidade à saúde. É urgente reduzir estas iniquidades.

Presidente, termino. Já passaram mais de 40 segundos desde que comecei a intervenção e uma pessoa já morreu por suicídio e 20 o tentaram. São estas as estatísticas. É urgente fazermos mais. É urgente fazermos melhor.

  Dragoş Pîslaru, on behalf of the Renew Group. – Mr President, it is a little bit sad that we discuss at this late time in the plenary session about such an important topic.

Mental health was already a critical issue in the European Union after the COVID-19 pandemic. But right now, with the aggression and the crisis that is caused by Russia, with the energy prices going up, we might have second pandemics. The pandemics of depression and anxiety caused by uncertainty, by hardship, by lack of hope. And we need to give back hope to the European citizens.

We appreciate the efforts done in the field of occupational health and safety related to the agenda of the Swedish Presidency and all the efforts. We appreciate also the strategy on care. But as the Chair of the Employment and Social Affairs Committees, as a Renew Europe Member, I am coming today with the proposal towards you.

Our citizens need a European strategy for mental health, for prevention, treatment and monitoring mental problems. Thank you so much. And we are looking forward to seeing that initiative.

  Tilly Metz, au nom du groupe Verts/ALE. – Monsieur le Président, chère Commissaire, chers collègues, la santé mentale de nombreux citoyens et citoyennes a été mise à rude épreuve et elle l’est encore à cause de la pandémie de COVID-19, suivie de la guerre en Ukraine et de la crise socio-économique qui en découle.

Les systèmes de santé doivent faire face à des niveaux de stress, d’anxiété et de dépression élevés et variés. Les jeunes socio-économiquement défavorisés sont particulièrement exposés à ce risque. Des bouleversements radicaux et des changements sociaux rapides, y compris l’exposition soudaine à la pauvreté, l’abus de pouvoir ou les peurs existentielles, peuvent déclencher une détresse psychologique, d’autant plus que ces jeunes n’ont souvent ni les possibilités, ni les moyens de trouver un soutien adapté à leurs besoins, et que dans tous les pays les problèmes de santé mentale sont beaucoup plus fréquents chez les personnes les plus démunies.

Afin de remédier à ces problèmes, nous devons mettre en place une stratégie européenne sur la santé mentale, qui mette en exergue, plus particulièrement, les problèmes de santé mentale rencontrés par les enfants et les jeunes adultes. Il est urgent aussi que nous proposions des services de soutien psychologique à bas seuil, des services qui soient accessibles et abordables. L’accès à ces services doit être facile et sans contrainte. Il est nécessaire d’analyser et d’enlever les barrières qui entravent l’accès aux soins et au soutien psychologique d’urgence.

Dans ces moments extrêmement difficiles, nous nous devons de proposer des mesures sociales et financières destinées aux jeunes immigrés, à ceux appartenant à des groupes de minorités ainsi qu’aux personnes vivant dans des situations de précarité économique. Il est également essentiel de favoriser la prévention, le diagnostic précoce et un accès direct au soutien psychosocial individualisé afin de garantir un prompt rétablissement.

Madame la Commissaire, il est temps de proposer une stratégie européenne pour la santé mentale. J’appelle la Commission à prendre aussi en compte la résolution du Parlement de juillet 2020 plaidant pour un plan d’action européen sur la santé mentale afin de faire face aux multiples facettes de la santé mentale, et plus particulièrement chez les jeunes et les enfants.

  Joachim Kuhs, im Namen der ID-Fraktion. – Herr Präsident! Guten Tag, Frau Jourová, liebe Kollegen! Wir sind uns, glaube ich, alle einig, dass es hier um ein zentrales, wichtiges Thema geht, was nicht nur vordergründig betrachtet werden kann, als wäre jetzt die COVID-Krise oder auch die Ukrainekrise daran schuld, dass es so hochgegangen ist.

Wir haben schon seit Jahren die Grundlagen gelegt dafür, dass unsere Kinder, dass unsere Gesellschaft ihre Wurzeln verloren haben. Wir kappen unsere eigenen Wurzeln, wir zerstören unsere Fundamente, indem wir zum Beispiel versuchen, unseren Kindern ihre Identität, die sie in 99,99 Prozent aller Fälle klar wissen – dass sie eben wissen, der eine ist ein Junge und das andere ist ein Mädchen –, zu zerstören. Wir lassen sie hilflos und gestrandet und ohne irgendeinen Plan für ihr Leben da liegen und wundern uns dann, dass sie nicht mehr wissen, ob sie jetzt normal sind oder nicht normal sind.

Das ist doch die eigentliche Ursache unserer Verlorenheit, die wir hier eigentlich auch haben. Wir haben in einer gewissen Weise unseren Kompass nicht beachtet, wir haben unser Ziel aus dem Auge verloren. Ich möchte daran erinnern, dass zum Beispiel in der amerikanischen Unabhängigkeitserklärung the pursuit of happiness – das Streben nach Glück – als ein unveräußerliches Recht festgeschrieben worden ist. Das Streben nach Glück – wir tun alles, um dieses Streben nach Glück zu vermeiden, zu verhindern und unseren Kindern Prügel zwischen die Beine zu werfen, damit sie nicht in der Lage sind, hier wirklich klar zu erkennen, wer sie sind und was sie in ihrem Leben erreichen wollen. Wir rauben ihnen im Grunde genommen ihre Lebensziele.

Ich glaube, wir müssen wieder zurückkehren zu den Fundamenten. Wir müssen zurückkehren zu dem, wo zum Beispiel ein Augustinus schon vor 1700 Jahren gesagt hat: Wir ruhen nicht, unser Herz ruht nicht, es sei denn, es ruht in dir, o Gott. Wenn wir unseren Kompass und unsere Verankerung mit dem Göttlichen verloren haben, dann müssen wir uns nicht wundern, dass wir nicht mehr wissen, wie es weitergeht. Das müssen wir unseren Kindern vermitteln. Da müssen wir wieder zurückkehren zu diesem Normalen, zu dem, was ganz normal ist für jeden von uns.

Mit Gottes Hilfe und mit Hilfe meiner Frau haben wir vier Mädchen und sechs Jungs großgezogen. Die sind alle auch durch die Pubertät gegangen. Die hatten auch ihre Probleme und ihre Schwierigkeiten, aber keiner von denen hat irgendwo mal riesige Probleme bekommen. Gott sei Dank! Und Gott sei Dank waren wir jetzt auch in dieser COVID-Krise resilient genug, um auch das alles zu überstehen. Trotzdem dürfen wir die Herausforderungen nicht einfach so auf die Seite schieben. Ich bin auch dankbar für jede Hilfe, die die Menschen bekommen, die Probleme haben. Aber lassen Sie uns klar sein: Allein diese medizinischen Hilfen für mental health, die reichen nicht aus. Wir brauchen eine Rückkehr zum Normalen.

  Elżbieta Rafalska, w imieniu grupy ECR. – Panie Przewodniczący! Pani Komisarz! Koleżanki i Koledzy! W grudniu w Komisji Zatrudnienia i Spraw Socjalnych odbyło się wysłuchanie na temat zdrowia psychicznego w świecie cyfrowym w dobie po pandemii. Temat jest niezwykle ważny i aktualny, chociaż wcale nie nowy. Cyfryzacja i praca zdalna są mieczem obosiecznym. Z jednej strony dają pracownikom większą autonomię, możliwość pracy z domu i teoretycznie oszczędność czasu, z drugiej strony okazuje się, że życie zawodowe i rodzinne zacierają się, a godziny pracy często się wydłużają. Izolacja i brak kontaktów społecznych odcisnęły piętno na zdrowiu psychicznym wszystkich grup wiekowych. Kontakty społeczne okazały się bezcenne. Są nie do zastąpienia. Pojawił się też aspekt fizyczny – brak ruchu, niemożność uprawiania sportu wskutek niedostępnej infrastruktury czy niekiedy wręcz zakaz opuszczania domu miały swój przyczynek do pogarszającej się sytuacji w zakresie zdrowia psychicznego.

Prawa pracowników, w tym do odłączenia się, powinny być poszanowane. Równie istotne są zasady bezpieczeństwa i higieny pracy. W pracy zdalnej brak ruchu i długie godziny przy biurku często bez właściwego wyposażenia domowego biura niosą za sobą ryzyko zaburzeń mięśniowo-szkieletowych, otyłości i cukrzycy. Natomiast w zakresie opieki zdrowotnej należy zapewnić nie tylko dostęp do lekarzy pierwszego kontaktu czy specjalistów, często w niektórych państwach członkowskich skandalicznie ograniczone lub niemożliwe w trakcie pandemii, lecz także do wsparcia psychologów i terapeutów.

Inwestycje w lepsze warunki pracy, lepsze zarządzanie sytuacjami stresogennymi zwiększą wydajność i poprawią samopoczucie pracowników. Wypaleniu zawodowemu czy stanom lękowym można przeciwdziałać. Potrzebne są pilne działania, i te europejskie, i krajowe, i nie można ich odkładać na potem.

  Kateřina Konečná, za skupinu The Left. – Pane předsedající, vážené kolegyně, kolegové, vážená paní komisařko, po dvou letech pandemie COVID-19, kdy nám obrovským způsobem stoupla četnost sebevražedných myšlenek až u 70 % procent hospitalizovaných pacientů, o několik set procent stoupl počet výjezdů záchranných služeb kvůli sebepoškozování dětí, došlo k rozvoji nových depresivních a úzkostných poruch, a to zejména u dětí, které dosud nebyly v psychiatrické péči, došlo k nárůstu poruch příjmu potravy, přichází doba, kdy potřebujeme pro další desítky tisíc dětí péči, a my ji nemáme. My to nevyřešíme dnes, tady a hned. Ale jsem velmi ráda, že Komise komplexně začíná přemýšlet o tomto problému, protože tento problém se bude řešit desetiletí. Ale není možné akceptovat dlouhodobý nedostatek dětských psychiatrů, který je spojen nejenom se zdravotnictvím, ale především se školstvím, protože tam to všechno začíná, na lékařských univerzitách. Musíme motivovat mladé lékaře k tomu, aby dětskou psychiatrii studovali, dělali a aby to pro ně bylo zajímavé. To jsou všecko věci, které jsou na stole, a já pevně věřím, že Komise se toho opravdu vážně ujme a že si třeba časem řekneme, že se nám to povedlo.

  Sunčana Glavak (PPE). – Poštovani predsjedavajući, poštovana povjerenice, kolegice i kolege, vremena u kojima živimo izazovna su za očuvanje našeg mentalnog zdravlja, a upravo danas, na Svjetski dan zdravlja, moramo se upitati jesmo li u posljednje dvije godine iscrpili svoje emocionalne rezerve. To je bilo vrijeme svakodnevne adaptacije na stres jer, osim genetske uvjetovanosti, upravo je mentalno zdravlje podložno brojnim čimbenicima poput sukoba socijalno-ekonomske pozadine, a sada i rata. Nošenje sa stresnim situacijama zahtijeva od nas prilagodbu i pronalaženje primjerenih strategija. Radi se o ozbiljnom problemu koji, budimo ozbiljni i recimo otvoreno, još uvijek je u nekim zemljama tabu tema.

Procjenjuje se kako su troškovi povezani s lošim mentalnim zdravljem u Europskoj uniji u predpandemijskom razdoblju dosezali 600 milijardi eura godišnje, oko 4 posto BDP-a. Očekuje se da bi ova brojka mogla biti puno veća u postpandemijskim godinama. Pri tome treba istaknuti posebno najizloženije skupine poput zdravstvenih djelatnika, mladih i djece. Radi se zapravo o horizontalnom pitanju na koje utječu politike u nizu sektora osim u zdravstvu, uključujući obrazovanje, zapošljavanje, borbu protiv siromaštva te brojnih drugih. Iz tog razloga smatram da nam je potreban holistički pristup kako bismo pružili adekvatne i održive odgovore na ovaj rastući zdravstveno sociološki izazov.

Posljednjih šest tjedana svjedoci smo svakodnevnim potresnim scenama iz ratom pogođene Ukrajine. Nasilju, smrti i nesigurnosti. Podržavam napore Komisije država članica zdravstvenih profesionalaca, kao i običnih ljudi koji u svakodnevnim kontaktima pomažu osobe raseljene iz Ukrajine. Hvala vam na svim vašim bezuvjetni iskazima solidarnosti. Pozivam Komisiju, ali i vas kolegice i kolege, na snažni angažman oko ove bitne teme. Uz svu dosadašnju potporu, ona još uvijek nije dovoljna. Problemi mentalnog zdravlja zaslužuju veću pažnju javnosti te izdašnije resurse za podršku, istraživanje i liječenje. Hvala vam lijepa.

  Radka Maxová (S&D). – Pane předsedající, paní komisařko, už před pandemií COVID-19 se problémy duševního zdraví týkaly asi 84 milionů Evropanů. A tohle číslo se ještě zdvojnásobilo právě během pandemie. A to nás stálo a stojí více než 4 % HDP, tedy více než 600 miliard EUR. Pandemie měla také dopad na psychické zdraví dětí. Výrazně stoupla četnost sebevražedných myšlenek. Mnoho dětí začala trápit deprese nebo úzkostlivé poruchy. A stoupl také počet poruch příjmu potravy nebo sebepoškozování. Dále se prohloubily potíže způsobené sociálním odloučením a problémem fyzického a psychického domácího násilí. S tím spojený problém je nedostatek dětských psychiatrů a psychologů. Situace v rámci Evropské unie se liší, ale v některých oblastech je péče zcela nedostupná anebo je dostupná až ve chvíli, kdy dítě pomýšlí na sebevraždu nebo se o ni už pokusilo. Péči o duševní zdraví nelze tedy nadále považovat za okrajové téma. Potřebujeme evropskou strategii v oblasti duševního zdraví. Ta se musí zabývat duševním zdravím ve všech jeho aspektech od prevence přes léčbu až po péči a pokrývat všechna odvětví politiky jako oblast zdraví, zaměstnanosti, financí, vzdělávání a také sociálních služeb. Ke zvýšení povědomí o duševním zdraví pomůže také vyhlášení Evropského roku duševního zdraví, který by urychlil destigmatizaci a poskytl zúčastněným stranám platformu pro výměnu a sdílení zkušeností a osvědčených postupů.

  Véronique Trillet-Lenoir (Renew). – Monsieur le Président, Madame la Commissaire, merci pour les efforts que vous faites, mais il est temps pour la Commission de proposer une véritable stratégie européenne pour la santé mentale.

Plusieurs instruments existent et présentent déjà une dimension de santé mentale. Santé au travail, salaire minimum, garantie pour l’enfance, fonds social européen: nous devons les articuler. Pour être plus efficace, notre approche devra être globale. La santé mentale est déterminée par des facteurs individuels et collectifs. Elle doit donc être prise en compte dans toutes les politiques européennes. Cela nécessite un engagement des États membres, mais aussi une coordination européenne des initiatives et des actions. Nous avons besoin de financements, mais aussi d’indicateurs pour cibler les domaines prioritaires, sur le modèle du registre des inégalités du cancer, car là aussi, la réduction des inégalités doit être prioritaire.

  Alviina Alametsä (Verts/ALE). – Mr President, this is the most important topic, also because of the crisis in Ukraine and the trauma that this is causing. A lack of mental health services threatens lives and human rights. I have also experienced that myself. When I was 15, we had a shooting at my school, because the shooter didn’t get the mental health aid that he was seeking before it was too late. And I myself suffered from depression. I think that this is something we must address here, because we know the solutions too. It is not a mystery how to solve mental health issues. We need to have therapy. Psychotherapy is effective; we know this from studies. In just four sessions, you can decrease depression symptoms. We need income, housing for people, and to reduce violence, because that leads to trauma, which is also a big cause of mental health problems. And this is, of course, something we must fix because as much as 50% of people who suffer from a mental health illness never get the help that they need. I am asking, as my colleagues have too, for a European Union mental health strategy and for more funding for mental health care and also research on this topic. We really do owe this especially to the children and young people who are suffering today.

  Ангел Джамбазки (ECR). – Г-н Председател, г-жо Комисар, колеги, този въпрос и този дебат идват доста навреме след години, в които паниката и истерията владееха медиите. След години, в които гражданите на държавите членки на Европейския съюз бяха поставени в ситуация на тревожност и на напрежение, и е ясно, че това ще се отрази върху тяхното и ментално, и психично здраве.

Затова, уважаеми колеги, и най-вече към вас, уважаема г-жо Комисар, въпросът е следния и коментарът е следния. Ясно е, че преживяхме две години на несигурност, на паника, на трагедии. Нещо, което не се е случвало в рамките на последните повече от 100 години след испанската чума. Въпросът е какво направи Европейската комисия за тези две години и повече? Каква беше нейната реакция, какви бяха съобщенията, които изпращаше Европейската комисия, какви бяха действията, които предприе Европейската комисия, за да запази, да съхрани, да успокои гражданите на държавите членки на Европейския съюз? Какви бяха средствата, които бяха похарчени за различните видове кампании от тези, които влудяваха хората всеки ден, във всяка една медия, без значение дали е електронна, дали е социална мрежа, дали е печатна медия, в които се говореше непрекъснато за заплаха, за страх, за пандемия, за край, за нещо, което е извънредно и което е опасно.

Затова, уважаема г-жо Комисар, хубаво е да разберем колко струваше пропагандата на Европейската комисия по време на пандемията и ще разберем как това се е отразило върху психичното здраве на гражданите.

  José Gusmão (The Left). – Senhor Presidente, a garantia do direito à saúde mental pressupõe a regulação da atividade das empresas e a existência de serviços públicos de fiscalização das condições de trabalho e de saúde que têm sido, infelizmente, enfraquecidos um pouco por toda a Europa. Mas exige também o regresso a um paradigma de proteção dos direitos do trabalho que impeça as situações de precariedade, de abuso, de arbitrariedade e de violência no local de trabalho. E nisto não estamos todos de acordo.

A mesma direita que defendeu a desregulação das relações de trabalho, a mesma direita que defendeu a desregulação dos horários de trabalho, a mesma direita que se opõe, e continua a opor-se, a uma diretiva sobre o direito a desligar, a mesma direita que defendeu políticas de austeridade e de privatização dos serviços públicos, nomeadamente dos serviços públicos de saúde, vem hoje aqui chorar lágrimas de crocodilo com as consequências dessas políticas na saúde mental de tantos trabalhadores, em tantos países da Europa. De lágrimas de crocodilo não precisamos.

  Deirdre Clune (PPE). – Mr President, as we discuss mental health it is so important that we take time to reflect on the Ukrainian people at this time and the horrendous experiences that they’re going through, experiences that will leave them both young and old, severely traumatised.

And I say to the Commissioner: you’ve outlined how we can help in this area through effective strategies that require political leadership, coordination and cooperation across organisations and, of course, sufficient resources to implement these strategies. We must be aware that these people will suffer for years to come. And, of course this year, 2022, is the European Year of Youth. And our young people, I believe, have had an enormous burden to bear over the last number of years, and their mental health most definitely has suffered: lack of engagement and socialising with their peers, gaps in their education that some may never be able to fill or get the opportunity to close, unemployment at a time when they should be advancing and building experiences and isolation that nobody should ever have to suffer at a time when they most need engagement and interaction for social development.

We must be prepared for the impact of this amongst our young people, some who may have had difficulties previously that would have been accentuated during COVID and others find themselves unable to cope now in this new world to them. So we must support them, keep them to the fore and recognise that, as one of our previous speakers has said, we know the solutions and we need now to engage and support.

  Patrizia Toia (S&D). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, potremmo tristemente dire che in Europa c'è una specie di fantasma che si aggira, che è invisibile perché noi non vogliamo vederlo, perché sta nascosto nelle famiglie, nella loro disperazione, nella loro solitudine, in poche strutture di cura. Parlo della malattia mentale, per la quale noi tutti abbiamo la grande colpa di aver lasciato sole le famiglie, sole le persone che ne soffrono e di averle un po' dimenticate. Ecco perché dico che è un fantasma, perché non vogliamo vederlo e continuiamo a non vederlo.

A questa gravità della malattia mentale vera e propria, delle patologie mentali e psichiatriche, si sono aggiunti oggi tanti altri problemi di disagio psicologico: l'effetto post-COVID per i giovani, la realtà delle fasce più vulnerabili e anche delle donne soggette a violenze o delle vittime di violenza.

Insomma, noi abbiamo il dovere di indagare tutti questi aspetti e di affrontarli. Allora dico, signora Commissaria ma tutta la Commissione, che noi dobbiamo davvero affrontare questo problema. Sono poco studiate queste realtà: c'è poca ricerca, anche nell'ambito di Orizzonte si fa poca ricerca sulle malattie mentali, vi sono poche strutture di cura e di riabilitazione e pochissima prevenzione.

Allora la mia richiesta è che si elabori un piano d'azione, come abbiamo fatto per il cancro e per altre patologie: occorre un piano d'azione europeo.

  Alin Mituța (Renew). – Domnule președinte, doamna comisară, acum câteva luni am fost în vizită la liceul pe care l-am absolvit. Știți ce mi-au spus elevii de acolo? Mi-au spus că se simt sub o presiune imensă, din cauza standardelor false pe care le impune social media, că se simt singuri, din cauza faptului că au stat prea mult izolați în case din cauza pandemiei. Știm deja de ceva vreme că epoca vitezei în care trăim, dar și social media, vin la pachet cu stres și anxietate, cu consecințe asupra sănătății noastre mintale.

Dar pandemia și acum, războiul au făcut ca ele să devină și mai grave. Trebuie să luăm foarte în serios aceste probleme, până nu e prea târziu. Altfel, riscăm să avem generații întregi cu probleme de anxietate cronică și inadaptare socială. Avem nevoie cât mai curând de un plan european pentru sănătate mintală, care să ajute în special tinerii europeni, dar și ucrainienii care fug îngroziți de război.

  João Pimenta Lopes (The Left). – Senhor Presidente, as alterações profundas provocadas pela COVID-19 no quotidiano das pessoas impactaram, e impactam ainda, na sua saúde mental e bem-estar psicológico. São necessárias respostas urgentes e medidas concretas para garantir a prestação universal de cuidados de saúde, de proximidade e qualidade.

É necessário mais investimento na saúde para promover a cobertura regular dos serviços hospitalares de psiquiatria e saúde mental, sem assimetrias, serviços comunitários, articulados com serviços hospitalares e com os cuidados de saúde primários públicos, contribuindo para a prevenção, diagnóstico e tratamento; dotar os serviços públicos de saúde com o número adequado de profissionais, médicos, enfermeiros, psicólogos e outros técnicos de saúde mental, valorizando as carreiras e a sua colocação onde mais falta fazem; intervir precocemente na saúde mental da primeira infância e adolescência, articulando as unidades de saúde com a escola.

No Dia Internacional da Saúde, importa afirmar a importância e imperativa necessidade de investir e reforçar o Serviço Nacional de Saúde público, de qualidade, gratuito, que comporte a dimensão da saúde mental, intervindo na prevenção e promoção da saúde em proximidade com as populações.

  Domènec Ruiz Devesa (S&D). – Señor presidente —querido Rainer—, según la OCDE, el número de personas que sufren ansiedad y depresión ha aumentado sustancialmente desde marzo de 2020, incluso, en el caso de España, mi país, por poner un ejemplo, se ha duplicado. Es algo que ya han comentado muchos diputados: el impacto de la pandemia, ahora el impacto de la guerra.

Pero creo que la cuestión de la salud mental, cuyo estigma, por cierto, tenemos que contribuir a borrar, es muy anterior. Creo que habría que retrotraerse al inicio de la era neoliberal —finales de los setenta, principios de los ochenta—, con esa falta de énfasis en la política social que hemos tenido en estos cuarenta años.

Por tanto, este cambio de era en el que vivimos debe ser la gran oportunidad para avanzar en esa estrategia europea de salud mental que debe ponerse en marcha, y también para fomentar la educación emocional desde la primera infancia, invirtiendo en niños de entornos desfavorecidos. En este sentido, la Garantía Infantil desempeña un papel fundamental.

  Valter Flego (Renew). – Poštovani predsjedavajući, povjerenice, dame i gospodo, zbilja mi je jako drago da danas, na Svjetski dan zdravlja, pričamo upravo o mentalnom zdravlju jer nema zdravlja bilo koje osobe bez mentalnog zdravlja. Znamo, naime, da se mentalno zdravlje najjednostavnije može opisati kao stanje u kojem se svaka osoba može uspješno nositi sa svakodnevnim stresnim načinom života. I jasno je da ono ovisi o utjecaju okoline, ali i o socio-ekonomskim okolnostima, a one su, znamo svi, u ove posljednje dvije godine sve osim jednostavne i lagane.

Upravo zbog toga, dame i gospodo, smatram da nacionalne zdravstvene politike bi trebale puno više pozornosti i konkretnih aktivnosti učiniti oko promocije važnosti mentalnog zdravlja i konkretnog rada na njemu. Posebice je to, naravno, važno za djecu i mlade, te se nadam da to i države članice odnosno nacionalne vlade i resorno ministarstvo shvaćaju, a i Europska komisija, kako bi zajedno učinili pozitivne pomake na ovom tako važnom pitanju. Hvala na pažnji.

Spontane Wortmeldungen

  Seán Kelly (PPE). – Mr President, this is a very important topic and I would like to compliment my colleague behind me, Maria Walsh, who has done tremendous work here in Parliament and elsewhere on this whole topic.

As has been said, COVID-19 put a huge mental strain particularly on young people, who couldn’t go to school, who were not able to meet their friends, who couldn’t play, and of course, on elderly people, who were locked at home and couldn’t see their families for long periods. Then, as the Commissioner pointed out, along comes the Ukraine war, caused by the war criminal Putin, and refugees coming here under enormous mental strain. Of course, we are very pleased that so many people in Europe are welcoming them and making it easy for them, despite the fact that it leads to a rise in the cost of living. And of course, that’s putting strain, particularly on a lot of people who are close to energy poverty and other types of poverty. So it’s good we discuss it and that we do a European strategy.

  Billy Kelleher (Renew). – Mr President, I too welcome the opportunity to speak on this very important issue and I want to compliment all colleagues across all political parties that keep this very much to the fore in the European Parliament.

Of course, there are significant challenges now because of the COVID-19 pandemic, social isolation, individual isolation, the changes in economic circumstances of families and individuals and now, on top of that, the significant challenge that Europe faces and its obligations to ensure that we put in place the necessary resources around child psychiatrists, psychotherapy and counsellors to address what will happen and is happening in the months and years ahead with regard to refugees coming into Europe from across Ukraine.

We have an obligation to increase the capacity of our health services, to provide support for children who have been scarred and who have been damaged and potentially destroyed. If we don't step in in time and provide the necessary supports around child psychiatrists, psychotherapy and counselling, we owe that to the children of Europe, be they Ukrainian or be they French or Irish. Let's deal with mental health pan-European to ensure that every child has an opportunity.

  Mick Wallace (The Left). – Mr President, Ireland spends just 6% of its total health budget on mental health; Germany spends 12%; Norway 13.5% and France 15%. More than 3300 children are waiting for a consultant appointment with the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service in Ireland. Acute adult psychiatric units are operating at almost 90% occupancy, yet the safe occupancy level is at 85%.

We have a medicalised mental health model that all stakeholders appear to agree is a massive problem. Yet, still we have little or no public health talk therapy. In her statement last October, Commissioner Kyriakides said EUR 7 million will be invested in projects to prevent depression and suicide and to support more person-centred, community-based mental health services. In 2019, the HSC in Ireland admitted that it needed EUR 189 million to fully implement the staffing requirements alone that were set out in a vision for change that was going to deal with our failure to supply mental health services.

The Commission’s EUR 7 million is a drop in the ocean.

  Maria Walsh (PPE). – Mr President, some six years ago, a total of 84 million people suffered from mental health. And since then, we've been challenged to no end with the new realities of a pandemic and now a war.

Balanced mental health is, of course, everything. Without it, we struggle to cope, adapt, maintain a good quality of life. We are currently living in a silent pandemic and no one deserves to suffer in silence.

I ask the Commission and the Council to dedicate 2023 to an EU year that looks at mental health and develop an EU-wide mental health strategy, now and for all. I particularly like to highlight our staff, our teams and our advisors that work tremendously hard in these institutions that are experiencing and facing burnout and mental health pressures at work and at home. As Dragoș Pîslaru, our EMPL chair, shared, this debate deserves to be on a time when Parliament is full. We cannot continue to stigmatise mental health yet mourn the loss of it.

(Ende der spontanen Wortmeldungen)

  Věra Jourová, Vice-President of the Commission. – Mr President, honourable Members, thank you very much for sharing your insights with me this afternoon. I had no doubt that our concern about the mental health of our population is very much a shared one.

I must say we are very encouraged by the Parliament’s ongoing strong support for European mental health action. I have heard the calls for a new strategy. The Commission’s new Healthier Together EU Non—Communicable Diseases Initiative will very much provide a hands—on approach to help Member States reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases.

Mental health and neurological disorders form one of the five thematic strands in Healthier Together, which will also address health inequalities and encourage integrated approaches. Member States, health authorities, stakeholders, international organisations and Commission departments are working together on a plan of action to which we would certainly welcome further input from all of you in this House. Underpinning the plan, we will have a mapping exercise of legal frameworks, initiatives and financial instruments from Commission departments to make sure that we work across sectors as efficiently as possible and maximise opportunities.

In this place, I would like to also share something from my portfolio and my preparedness to cooperate on this plan, because in my portfolio I deal a lot of with the impact of social media and the internet on our society. We are still missing sufficient research on how strong and how negative this impact is on the young generation and on children, but we already see from different surveys that there is a loss of social contacts, there is an isolation, and there is also the fact that, at this moment, reality is still better than what we see in the digital mirror.

All this together has a negative impact on young people and on children, especially in the situation when the father is Instagram and the mother is TikTok. I think that there is a space to do something, to raise awareness, to campaign, to influence society, parents and schools because we cannot organise the free time of children, but we can influence those who can do that.

We should also think about how to use the future digital tax because the tax should be used for reparation of the things which have been damaged, also by means of social media. This is just my humble contribution, which I want to come with when we work together in the Commission on this plan.

Honourable Members, I know that Parliament is finalising a report on this issue and my colleague, Commissioner Kyriakides, and I very much look forward to reading it and to pursuing our fruitful cooperation with you on this most important issue of mental health that concerns us all because mental health really matters.

  Der Präsident. – Vielen Dank, Frau Kommissarin Jourová. Die Aussprache ist damit geschlossen.

Schriftliche Erklärungen (Artikel 171)

  Josianne Cutajar (S&D), in writing. – Each passing year, mental disorders affect an increasing number of Europeans, with an exacerbation due to the COVID pandemic. While mental health issues represent a reason of concern for patients and their families, the situation they experience everyday is very often still surrounded by stigma. We must urgently address this and enable a new paradigm: nobody should feel ashamed for being proactive about their mental health. Encouraging people to speak openly about their condition, supporting them to seek professional help, promoting a culture of self-care: there are many ways to improve the quality of life of mental health patients. We cannot wait any longer to address this reality effectively. I urge the European Commission to do more. We need specific, measurable initiatives. A stronger focus on well-being instead of simply measuring the success of people and countries through economic indicators can also contribute to resetting priorities, including in policy-making. Furthermore, I reiterate the call for a European Year on Mental Health. We will only accomplish our mission when people will start taking care of their mental health unashamedly just as much as they do for their physical one.