Commission President von der Leyen re-elected: What next for Mental Health?

Ursula von der Leyen today in her Political Guidelines 2024-2029  promised to ‘step up our work on preventive health, in particular for mental health (…) building on the successful model of the Beating Cancer Plan’. In this first reaction to the political proposals made for the next EU mandate, Mental Health Europe looks at what could and should happen next. 

The next Commission must now develop a European Strategy on Mental Health, with concrete, time bound and properly financed actions at EU and Member State levels. This should include indicators and clear targets for monitoring progress. This coordinated response is essential to meet the President’s and voters’ ambitions.  

The commitment made to mental health should be reflected in the structure of the next Commission. Therefore, we call on the President to:  

• Appoint a Commission Vice-President in charge of Health, wellbeing and Social Rights, with clear objectives of their mission letter being to adopt a Strategy on Mental Health and ensuring that mental health is prioritised across all policies.

• Maintain the position of the Commissioner on Equality with a specific mandate to implement the UNCPRD through an ambitious second phase of the European Strategy of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This should include specific action for the rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities. Mental health should be mainstreamed in equality files.

• Prioritise addressing the socio-economic, technological, and environmental determinants of mental health is a priority in all relevant Commissioners’ mission letters. 

President von der Leyen has stated her ambition for an EU legislative cycle that prioritises shaping a Europe where everybody’s mental health thrives across their life course. The Commission, Parliament, and Council must work together to make this happen. 

Read our full list of recommendations and manifesto here.  

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