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The meeting primarily addressed the relevance of the new European Pillar of Social Rights in addressing the issues faced by carers in relation to employment, social security, social inclusion and health. Last March 2016, the European Commission put forward an initial outline of what should become the European Pillar of Social Rights. This will identify a number of essential principles common to Euro-area Member States, focusing on their needs and challenges in the field of employment and social policies.  Once in place, the Pillar should become the reference framework to screen the employment and social performance of participating Member States, to drive reforms at national level and, more specifically, to serve as a compass for the renewed process of convergence within the Euro area. A preliminary outline of the European Pillar of Social Rights was the subject of a EU stakeholder consultation. This contained three main categories in the field of employment and social policies, subdivided in a number of policy domains:

·         Equal opportunities and access to the labor market: skills development, life-long learning and active support for employment.

·         Fair working conditions: to establish an adequate and reliable balance of rights and obligations between workers and employers.

·         Adequate and sustainable social protection: access to health, social protection benefits and high quality services, including childcare, healthcare and long-term care.

 Given the importance of this initiative, the April meeting on Carers served to:

·         Inform participants of the content of the proposed European Pillar of Social Rights;

·         Explore how the Pillar could best support carers and their needs and issues:

·         Explore the synergies between the various health and social stakeholders are EU level.

In the next week, the European Commission will be releasing more details on the Pillar of Social Rights, the purpose of which is to find balance between economic and social issues in Europe.  The Commission will release a document outlining principles on how citizens should be treated, linked to a number of concrete policy proposals, to include work-life balance, and the right to long-term care.  Following consultation, a white paper will be released outlining how these rights will be implemented and who is responsible.

Representatives of the social platform are concerned that the principles create a momentum across member states to improve citizens’quality of life, and that the document is not simply aspirational.

For more information on the meeting with relevant links on the European Social Pillar, click here.

The post EP Interest Group on Carers Meeting (11.04.17) appeared first on European Brain Council (EBC).

The meeting provided an excellent platform to discuss prevention and treatment of mental health disorders and exchange on best practice interventions. It also raised the importance of promoting  equal opportunities for people with mental health problems, in particular in the workplace. For EBC it was an opportunity to showcase the Value of Treatment for mental and neurological [Brain] Disorders research project and highlight preliminary findings and forthcoming evidence-based recommendations with regards to early intervention. « Not Myself today », a flagship initiative of EBC was also highlighted.

Key speakers of the meeting were:

	Julie Ward, Member of the European Parliament
	George Szmukler, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry and Society Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience King’s College London
	Aagje Ieven, Secretary General, EUFAMI
	Dr Inge Neyens, Senior Researcher, LUCAS KU Leuven
	Maria Nyman, Director, Mental Health Europe
	Chris Nas, Senior Policy Advisor, Department Trimbos International, Trimbos Institute
	Martin Jefflén, President, EUROCADRES
	Rene Keet, Director, Community Mental Health Service Noord-Holland-Noord
	Joanna Hofman, Research Leader, RAND Europe
	Jo Loughran, Director of Operations, Time to Change

For more information on the event, including the full program, click here.

The post Mental Health in Europe Symposium (12.04.17) appeared first on European Brain Council (EBC).

For more information on VoT, click here.

For more information on EPA Congress, click here.

A full report on the congress will be released soon.

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