ABSTRACT
As Member of the European Parliament (MEP) John Bowis points out that there are a number of key flaws in mental health services throughout Europe. To address these and other pressing concerns, the European region of the World Health Organization endorsed the Mental Health Declaration for Europe, and the Mental Health Action Plan for Europe, in Helsinki in January 2005. The European Parliament’s Report in 2006 on the Green Paper proposed a motion for a resolution on improving the mental health of the EU population. That there is considerable unmet need in Europe is evidenced by a recent study of the epidemiology of mental disorders in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain (that is, western European member states), which found that 31% of the adult population had an unmet need for mental healthcare. Information mapping about the extent of unmet need and what is going on in all member states is one of its greatest challenges.
