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10 March 2021

Hello, and welcome to the news and tools delivery from EDJNet.

In this week's edition, mental health is up front and centre. We're extremely glad to present you a large investigation revealing how Europeans dealing with depression and anxiety have little choice except pay up or put off, due to the scarcity of publicly available psychological services.

The investigation was coordinated by Civio and benefited from inputs by a few dozen journalists, scholars, practictioners, and activists from many countries in Europe. The investigation comes with a detailed methodology rundown, and a video presentation.

To round things off, we look at who's producing vaccines in Europe and where. We also detail EU border agency Frontex's disturbing embrace of corporate interests over human rights.

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Mental Health Investigation

Pay up or put it off: how Europe treats depression and anxiety

In many European countries, the availability of psychological treatment in the public healthcare system is inadequate or even non-existent. Barriers such as long waiting lists, co-payments and inadequate resources push people with anxiety or depression – those who can afford it – to the private system. An investigation coordinated by Civio.

Depression and anxiety are the most common mental health conditions diagnosed in the EU. Four out of every 100 people have been diagnosed with depression, five out of every 100 with anxiety.
National public healthcare systems do not always include treatment for these problems. Most countries also limit the number of consultations and suffer insufficient human and financial resources.
The private sector helps to bridge the gap, but it is not accessible to everyone. In countries like Romania, a worker on the minimum wage would have to work almost 4 days to pay for a single 1-hour session with a private psychologist.

Read the investigation >

How Europe trea ts depression and anxiety – detailed methodology

A detailed account of the steps, choices, and methods that led to Civio’s investigation on the availability of psychological treatment in the public healthcare systems in Europe.

Ángela Bernardo: Mental Health and Covid 19 (video)

Civio and OBC Transeuropa

Data journalist Ángela Bernardo presents how Civio's team approached the investigation and what were some of the most interesting findings of their work. The video is part of a series of interviews on data journalism from a European perspective, which are produced by OBC Transeuropa.

COVID-19 has paralysed mental health care in Europe

Civio

In December 2020 we published the first part of our large investigation on access to mental health care in Europe, focusing on the impact of COVID-19 on psychiatry services. It turned out that the pandemic has caused a tsunami in mental health, and telemedicine is not a viable option for all patients.

All our articles can be freely republished or reused. Some are available in Croatian, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, and Romanian. Interested? Write to us!

The lobbyists behind EU response to migration

Emanuela Barbiroglio | Voxeurop

A “fortress Europe” is being built thanks to a massive deployment of resources. The result is that the border agency Frontex embraced corporate interests rather than human rights, a new report from Corporate Europe Observatory shows.

COVID-19 vaccines: here's who is producing them in Europe, and where

Stefano Valentino | MobileReporter/Voxeurop

Pharmaceutical giants producing COVID-19 vaccines are open to collaboration with third parties, as long as they retain control on vaccine licenses and profits. EU member states complain about supply shortages, but fail to question the power of Big Pharma.

Gender gap in politics: a multi-speed Europe

Daniele Ruzza | Voxeurop

Women are progressively more represented in parliaments across Europe. But, while some countries boast very diverse parliaments, others are still dominated by men.

From our partners at the European Data News Hub

European bans on Islamic full-face veils

Switzerland is the latest European country to ban the niqab, the Islamic full-face veil that shows only the eyes. Policies attempting to regulate or ban the niqab – and the more extensive burqa covering – have popped up in a handful of countries across Europe, with France enacting the first public ban in 2010.

Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine takes key step to EU approval

Europe’s drug regulator has launched an in-depth review of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, putting it on course to be the first non-Western jab used across the 27-nation EU.

From the data journalism community

From Stars4Media

EDJNet is a partner of the EU-funded initiative Stars4Media, where EDJNet member Europe's Media Lab also plays a central role. Stars4Media now has an open call for media and freelancers based in the European Union. It funds up to €5,400 per person (max €16,200 per organisation) for brief (4 months) joint works by small cross-border teams, with an innovative aspect. Deadlines are in May and July, for work to be conducted later this year. Data journalists are very much encouraged to apply! All details here.

From Journalism Fund

The European Cross-Border Grant programme (running since 2009) supports professional journalists who have good ideas for cross-border investigations and for research on European topics. The stories must be relevant to European target groups. Journalismfund.eu supports costs related to journalistic research for all media. This can include travel, translation, access to pay-databases or simply time to research. There are four rounds over 2021. Applications deadline for the next round is 11 March. More info here.

Women's media entrepreneurship programme (in French)

Women media entrepreneurs whose project started less than 18 months ago and aspiring women entrepreneurs can apply for this programme. Source is a free program created by Créatis, funded by the European Social Fund, intended for women who are underrepresented in the media and culture ecosystem. The deadline for the Incubation Source is 11 March.

You are free to reuse and republish all the content available on EDJNet. If you’d like to know more, check our terms of use or contact us (info@europeandatajournalism.eu).

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