Highlights of EUREGHA Annual Conference 2025 – Together for Mental Health: Regions Building Europe’s Healthier Future
EUREGHA Annual Conference 2025: Together for Mental Health – Regions Building Europe’s Healthier Future
EUREGHA’s Annual Conference 2025, “Together for Mental Health: Regions Building Europe’s Healthier Future”, took place on 2 December 2025 at the Basque Country Delegation in Brussels. The event brought together European institutions, international organisations and regional health authorities to discuss how mental health priorities can be translated into action at regional and local level.
Institutional perspectives: setting the framework
The conference opened with welcome remarks from Michele Calabrò, Director of EUREGHA, and Marta Marín, Delegate of the Basque Country to the European Union, who emphasised the central role of regions in delivering Europe’s mental health ambitions. They underlined that while European frameworks provide strategic direction, effective implementation depends on strong territorial leadership and cooperation.
Institutional perspectives were further enriched by video contributions from Kira Fortune (WHO Regional Office for Europe), who highlighted the importance of community-based approaches to mental health, and from Members of the European Parliament Maria Walsh (EPP, Ireland) and Romana Jerković (S&D, Croatia). Both MEPs reaffirmed the European Parliament’s commitment to strengthening mental health policy, reducing stigma and ensuring parity between mental and physical health.
Regional actors: practice-driven approaches to mental health
A central panel showcased regional strategies and reforms aimed at improving mental health outcomes. Rhodri Wyn Jones (Welsh Government) presented Wales’ prevention-driven, whole-of-government mental health and suicide prevention strategies. Solvejg Wallyn (Department of Care, Flanders) outlined Flanders’ integrated framework for mental health promotion across sectors and population groups.
From Central Denmark, Camilla Palmhøj Nielsen (DEFACTUM / Aarhus University) shared insights into psychiatric reform and the strengthening of community-based services, with a strong focus on children and adolescents. Silvia Fernández Calderón (Castilla y León) highlighted a rights-based and equity-focused approach tailored to demographic and territorial challenges, emphasising multidisciplinary teams and cross-sector coordination.
Building synergies: connecting regional action and European initiatives
The final part of the conference focused on building synergies from local to European level. Iñaki Gutiérrez Ibarluzea (Basque Government) presented Joint Action PRISM and the Basque suicide prevention programme Bizi, underlining the value of evidence-informed, community-based approaches. Kornelia Kiss (Culture Action Europe) illustrated how cultural participation can be integrated into mental health strategies through initiatives such as the Culture and Health Platform.
European collaboration was further highlighted by Kadri Soova (Mental Health Europe), who stressed the importance of addressing social determinants of mental health and integrating lived experience, and by Fabio Abbrescia (PROMIS Salute), who introduced Joint Action MENTOR and related work on child and youth mental health. Bas de Veen (Karakter / Radboud University Nijmegen) concluded this section with examples of cross-border cooperation in child and adolescent psychiatry between the Netherlands and Germany.
Looking ahead
Closing the conference, Michele Calabrò reaffirmed EUREGHA’s commitment to advancing territorial approaches to mental health and to supporting cooperation across regions, sectors and governance levels. The conference confirmed the added value of regional leadership and European collaboration in shaping more resilient, inclusive and people-centred mental health systems across Europe.
