On Tuesday 24 March 2026, an event is being held at the European Parliament in Brussels, in Library, Spinelli 5D, focusing on mental health, prevention in the digital era and the protection of minors online. The event is hosted by Ștefan Mușoiu, Member of the European Parliament, and moderated by Andreea Marin. It brings together European policymakers, representatives of the Romanian authorities, medical specialists, technology experts and civil society voices to examine how digital tools, human expertise and the protection of young people can be aligned more effectively.
The segment dedicated to European and national perspectives includes Roxana Mînzatu, Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness at the European Commission, Victor Negrescu, Vice-President of the European Parliament, Alexandru Rogobete, Minister of Health of the Government of Romania, and Members of the European Parliament Vasile Dîncu, Andi Cristea, Adrian George Axinia and Brando Benifei, who is also co-rapporteur for the AI Act. The agenda also lists Iulia Matei, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Romania to the European Union, Andreea Pastarnac, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Romania to the Kingdom of Belgium, Sabina Iosub, journalist at Antena 3 CNN, Teodora Preoteasa, Director for the Administration of European Funds, and Sorin Mierlea, President of InfoCons European Consumers Protection. The organisers’ intervention is led by Adrian Branco Raicovici, Founder and CEO of AIGENCY TECHSOLUTION S.R.L., and Adrian Ioan Buda, Co-founder and CMO of the same company.
The academic, medical and clinical dimension is represented in particular by Prof. Dr. Ana Maria Alexandra Stanescu, Romania’s national representative within the European General Practice Research Network, Head of the Family Medicine Department at the “Dr. Carol Davila” Central Military Emergency University Hospital, President of the Family Medicine Specialty Commission within the Ministry of Health, doctoral supervisor and coordinator of resident doctors. The agenda also includes Maria Smith, psychotherapeutic counsellor accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and Honorary President of ROconect, Dr. Panait Laura Marina, specialist in family medicine and ultrasonography at the Research & Innovation Foundation, Dr. Alin Bob, Medical and AI Expert and Co-founder of OncoNav, Bogdan Nicolae Enache, representative of the National Agency for Sport, Dan Alexa, head coach of Politehnica Timișoara and a leading advocate of mental resilience in professional sport, and Monica Munteanu, Digital Marketing Expert.
The psychiatric, institutional and technological fields are also strongly represented by Dr. Andrian Țîbîrnă, specialist in general surgery and General Manager of the “Prof. Dr. Alexandru Obregia” Clinical Psychiatric Hospital, Dr. Florina Rad, senior physician in child and adolescent psychiatry and university lecturer, Carmen Busi, psychotherapist and psychoanalyst, Victor Idricianu, Manager of the Psychiatric Hospital and Security Measures Facility in Pădureni-Grajduri, Dr. Paziuc Lucian Constantin, senior psychiatrist, doctor of medical sciences and President of the Association of Public Psychiatric Hospitals in Romania, and Dr. Băcilă Ionuț Ciprian, senior psychiatrist, doctor of medical sciences and President of the Romanian Association of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy. On the technology and governance side, the agenda further includes Cristina Anania, Deputy Director of the Romanian Office for Science and Technology to the European Union, Dr. Eng. Adrian-Victor Vevera, Director General of the National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics in Bucharest, Dan Cîmpean, Director of the National Cyber Security Directorate, Georgiana Coșoveanu, President of the Health Committee of AmCham Romania, Alin Metesan, CEO and Founder of Escape IT, and Belciu Bogdan Ionut, senior management consultant and founder of Valorem Management Consulting.
With this broad line-up, the programme seeks to frame a European discussion on mental health, digital safety, artificial intelligence and the protection of minors in the online environment. The official agenda shows a deliberate effort to connect policymaking, healthcare, technology, sport, cybersecurity and consumer protection within one common prevention-focused debate.
New European Prevention Guide
On Tuesday, March 24, 2026, the European Parliament began discussions on the new European Prevention Guide, a strategic document authored by Adrian Ioan Buda, Adrian Branco Detterer, and Malvina Roșu that addresses the growing influence of artificial intelligence on the emotional and social lives of children and young people.
The guide provides concrete measures for families, schools, digital platforms, and policymakers to better protect youth in a digital world, based on the core premise that preventive measures are significantly more cost-effective than treating mental health issues after they arise.
The authors do not reject technology as a negative phenomenon but acknowledge the real benefits of AI in education, information retrieval, and therapeutic support, while pointing out that the issue lies in how these systems are designed and consumed by minors without an adequate protective framework.
Responsibility for this protection does not rest solely with parents, the government, or the tech industry, as a simultaneous effort from all these actors is required to safeguard the mental health of the current generation.
The guide pursues four specific goals, including an analysis of the mechanisms through which AI influences mental health, practical tools for educators, minimum safety standards for platforms aligned with the DSA, the EU AI Act, and the GDPR, and a medium-term vision for government policy.
The urgency is underscored by European Commission figures estimating the annual cost of mental health problems at six hundred billion euros, while a 2024 WHO Europe report shows problematic social media use among adolescents rose from seven percent in 2018 to eleven percent in 2022. Treating minors as a homogeneous group is considered an error, as children aged six to nine primarily face risks from inappropriate content via voice assistants, while for pre-adolescents aged ten to thirteen, the focus shifts to digital socialization and the pressure of recommendation algorithms.
Teens aged fourteen to sixteen face the highest risks through interactions with generative AI and chatbots, often developing emotional dependence on virtual entities, while those seventeen and older remain vulnerable to performance pressure and political manipulation via AI-generated content. Recommendation algorithms on platforms like TikTok and Instagram are optimized for engagement rather than well-being, which leads to gradual exposure to harmful content, while conversational chatbots create a risk of dependence on interactions that lack real reciprocity. Finally, AI filters contribute to unattainable beauty ideals and body dissatisfaction, while video games use adaptive AI and gambling-like principles that carry a significant potential for addiction.
(Contact: Andy Vermaut +32499357495 – denktankcarmenta@gmail.com)