From research to care: European voices call for faster innovation in psychiatry

At the European Parliament, scientific societies, patient and family organisations, researchers and clinicians call for an EU framework to accelerate psychiatric research, cross-border clinical validation and access to proven advances in care.

Brussels, 14 October 2026 — A conference held at the European Parliament and hosted by MEP Tilly Metz puts forward a shared challenge: Europe must make it easier to turn discoveries in psychiatry into validated innovations that improve care. As the EU negotiates its next budget and research framework, the discussion calls for more connected research, multinational evidence and better access to effective approaches.

The event is held in association with the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) and the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP), alongside GAMIAN-Europe, a European network led by people with lived experience of mental health conditions, and EUFAMI, representing families and carers. These complementary perspectives are essential: people directly affected and their families should help shape research priorities and define what meaningful improvements in care look like. The initiative draws on PEPR PROPSY, France’s precision psychiatry research program, co-led by Inserm and CNRS with the support of Fondation FondaMental.


Five priorities for European action

The policy proposals focus on five concrete priorities:
• Sustain psychiatric research and innovation: make psychiatric research and translation to care a long-term European priority, including in future funding programs.
• Connect Europe’s existing assets: link cohorts, biobanks, clinical networks and research infrastructures without duplicating existing initiatives.
• Accelerate cross-border validation: develop collaborative demonstrators and multinational studies to assess promising diagnostic, therapeutic and digital approaches in real-world populations.
• Make validated advances accessible: connect clinical evidence, data governance, regulatory requirements and health technology assessment to support responsible uptake in care.
• Put directly affected people at the centre: involve patients, families and carers in setting priorities, co-designing studies, selecting meaningful outcomes and evaluating implementation.

A European framework that enables progress

The EU can build on the Comprehensive Approach to Mental Health, Healthier Together, the European Partnership for Brain Health and the European Health Data Space. With negotiations under way on the 2028–2034 EU budget and the next Horizon Europe program, the opportunity is to connect these initiatives through funding, research infrastructures and support for robust multinational clinical studies.
“Europe has the scientific expertise to transform psychiatric care, but research remains too fragmented across countries. By connecting our clinical networks, sharing data and conducting large-scale studies, we can accelerate the development and validation of more precise diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. This is essential to ensure that scientific discoveries translate into tangible improvements in care for patients across Europe.”



— Professor Marion Leboyer, Scientific Director, PEPR PROPSY
“Innovation in psychiatry should be guided by what matters to people living with mental health conditions, including effective care, greater choice and a better quality of life. This means involving people with lived experience throughout the research process, from setting priorities to evaluating how new approaches improve everyday life. European cooperation must help turn promising research into proven, accessible care..”

— Nigel Olisa - executive director GAMIAN-Europe - Turning shared priorities into better care
The initiative does not call for another stand-alone European strategy. It calls for a policy, financial and operational environment in which research teams, regulators, healthcare providers, patients and families can work together, using existing European capacities to bring independently evaluated innovations into routine care. Artificial intelligence and digital tools must meet appropriate requirements for clinical evidence, patient safety and human oversight.


EVENT AND PARTICIPATING ORGANISATIONS
Building a United Europe for the Future of Psychiatry: From Research to Care | 14 October 2026, 15:30–17:00 CEST | European Parliament, Brussels. The conference is broadcasted online, on this link.
Hosted by MEP Tilly Metz, with contributions announced from MEPs Ignazio Roberto Marino, Marta Temido and Nicolae Ștefănuță. Organised by PEPR PROPSY, a France 2030 research program led by Inserm and CNRS, with the support of Fondation FondaMental. Held in association with EPA, ECNP, GAMIAN-Europe and EUFAMI.

PRESS MATERIALS
European policy brief: From Fragmentation to Integration; summary of recommendations; proposed Brussels Declaration. The declaration remains a proposal unless and until endorsed by the relevant organisations. Interviews are available on request, subject to speakers’ availability.


ABOUT PEPR PROPSY
PEPR PROPSY is a precision psychiatry research program funded through France 2030. Co-led by Inserm and CNRS, with the support of Fondation FondaMental, the program aims to advance personalised approaches to psychiatric care through research and clinical validation.