Meeting with Ekaterina Zaharieva - EU Commissioner

PAREA presented its work, the growth of psychedelic research, and recommendations to strengthen mental-health innovation in Europe, including an EU Mental Health Moonshot, targeted incentives for psychedelic research, an Innovation Hub, and expanded EU funding.

The Commissioner noted resource constraints for a Moonshot but was open to exploring options in the next Horizon Europe cycle. She viewed the proposed Mental Health Innovation Hub as promising and comparable to existing models in paediatrics, cancer, and the European Brain Health Partnership.

She showed strong awareness of psychedelic therapies’ potential and highlighted stigma as a barrier. The group discussed risks from unregulated treatments and the need for safe, supervised clinical access. After the meeting, DG RTD requested PAREA’s presentation for wider circulation inside the Commission.

The full presentation is available here.