Mental health is receiving more attention than ever within the European Union. A perfect time to visit, gain a better understanding of the EU, and strengthen collaboration with our European partners.
Bas Nijhuis from the Permanent Representation of the Netherlands to the EU and Elizabeth Kuiper from the European Policy Center provided valuable insights into working within the EU.
With MEP Kim van Sparrentak, we discussed the impact of social media use on young people’s mental health. Together with MEP Ingeborg ter Laak, we exchanged views on Positive Health, which focuses on resilience, autonomy, and adaptability rather than limitations or illness.
Dana Carmen Bachmann and Thalia Danser-Maas from DG EMPL explained the European Care Strategy, which aims to ensure high-quality, affordable, and accessible care services with good working conditions for care providers.
Finally, Sorcha Edwards from Housing Europe illustrated how European cooperation between public social housing providers developed, despite the absence of direct EU competence.
Our dialogue partners were impressed by the cooperation within the Dutch coalition – the Dutch Association of Psychologists (NIP), MIND, the Dutch Association of Psychiatry, and the Dutch Mental Health Association – and by our shared vision for the future. They also appreciated the insights we provided from the daily practice of care providers. Want to learn more about our vision for the future?
Many thanks to all our dialogue partners for two inspiring days together: Claudia Marinetti, Liuska Sanna, and Camille Roux from Mental Health Europe; Caroline Costongs and Silvia Ganzerla from EuroHealthNet; Isane Aparicio and Lotte de Schrijver from EFPA; Geert Dom and Thibaut Le Forsonney from EPA. Ruth Peetoom, Jeroen Pepers, Monique Rook (Dutch Association of Psychologists - NIP), Sabien Raams, Laura Shields-Zeeman (Trimbos Institute), Jan Berndsen, Youp van Zorge, Richard Boxem, Madelon Sinnige, and Sébastien Garnier, our Brussels-based AxHA advisor.