Date: 2026-02-10Category: Not ApplicableState: Union GovernmentCountry: Europe
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/324 of 21 November 2025 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council by specifying the number and the title of the variables for the 2027 ad hoc subject Mental health and well-being in the income and living conditions domain
**Executive Summary**
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/324, dated November 21, 2025, supplements Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 by specifying the number and title of variables for the 2027 ad hoc subject of "Mental health and well-being" in the income and living conditions domain. The regulation will enter into force twenty days following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. The goal is to develop statistics to improve the policymaking of mental health within the EU.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Scope and Objective:**
* Specifies variables for the 2027 ad hoc subject 'Mental health and well-being' within the income and living conditions domain, aligning with the European Health Union initiative.
* Aims to inform policies related to income distribution, poverty, social exclusion, and other Union initiatives.
* **Variables:**
* A total of 21 variables will be collected, including two optional variables.
* The variables cover topics such as:
* Feelings of depression or anxiety
* Impact of mental health on social activities and work ability.
* Reasons for and unmet needs for mental health consultations.
* Relationships in education and at work.
* Work-life balance.
* Frequency of sport
* Use of social media
* Experience of digital violence
* Burden of household chores and daily responsibilities
* Discrimination.
* Mental health and well-being weights (optional).
* **Implementation:**
* The number of variables collected does not exceed by more than 5% the number of variables collected for the income and living conditions domain when Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 entered into force.
**Impact Analysis**
**European Commission**
*Impact:* Responsible for the collection, analysis, and publication of these statistics.
*Action Required:* Ensure the implementation of the Regulation.
**EU Member States**
*Impact:* Obligated to collect and report the specified data.
*Action Required:* Adapt data collection methods to capture the required variables related to mental health and well-being.
**European Parliament and the Council**
*Impact:* Utilize the data to inform policymaking and assess the impact of actions and funding related to mental health.
*Action Required:* Integrate the new statistics and indicators into relevant policy discussions and frameworks.
**Citizens/Individuals**
*Impact:* Potentially impacted by policy changes informed by the data collected.
*Action Required:* N/A
Key Entities Referenced
Regulation (EU) 2019/1700: Regulation establishing a common framework for European statistics relating to persons and households.
Mental health and well-being: The 2027 ad hoc subject in the income and living conditions domain, defining variables related to mental health.
European Health Union initiative: A Union initiative recognizing mental health as an integral part of health and informing the development of new statistics and indicators.
European Pillar of Social Rights: A set of key principles for a strong, fair, and inclusive social Europe, used in conjunction with the European Semester.
Brussels: Location where the regulation was signed.
Official Journal EN
of the European Union L series
2026/324 10.2.2026
COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION(EU) 2026/324
of 21 November 2025
supplementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council by
specifying the number and the title of the variables for the 2027 ad hoc subject ‘Mental health and
well-being’ in the income and living conditions domain
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and the Council of 10 October 2019 establishing
a common framework for European statistics relating to persons and households, based on data at individual level collected
from samples, amending Regulations (EC) No 808/2004, (EC) No 452/2008 and (EC) No 1338/2008 of the European
Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the
Council and Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98(1), and in particular Article 6(1) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) The income and living conditions domain provides the information required for the European Semester(2)and the
European Pillar of Social Rights(3), in particular on income distribution, poverty and social exclusion. It also
provides information for various other Union policies related to living conditions and poverty. The ad hoc subject to
be collected in 2027 on ‘Mental health and well-being’ is of key importance, in view of implementing the European
Health Union initiative(4) which recognises that mental health is an integral part of health. New statistics and
indicators should be developed and gradually embedded into policymaking to reflect issues such as inequalities,
physical and mental health and to assess the impact of actions and funding.
(2) The number of variables to be collected does not exceed by more than 5 % the number of variables collected for the
income and living conditions domain at the time when Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 entered into force,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
The number and title of the variables in the income and living conditions domain as regards the 2027 ad hoc subject on
‘Mental health and well-being’ shall be as set out in the Annex.
(1) OJ L 261 I, 14.10.2019, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/1700/oj.
(2) The European Semester is the European Union’s framework for the coordination and surveillance of economic and social policies.
(3) The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission proclaimed the European Pillar of Social Rights in 2017 at the Gothenburg
Summit. The Pillar sets out 20 key principles which represent the beacon guiding us towards a strong social Europe that is fair,
inclusive and full of opportunity in the 21st century.
(4) Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and
the Committee of the Regions ‘The European Health Union: acting together for people’s health’ (COM(2024) 206 final).
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2026/324/oj 1/3EN
OJ L, 10.2.2026
Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 21 November 2025.
For the Commission
The President
Ursula VON DER LEYEN
2/3 ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2026/324/ojEN
OJ L, 10.2.2026
ANNEX
Number and titles of the variables for the 2027 ad hoc subject ‘Mental health and well-being’ in the
income and living conditions domain
Module Detailed topic Variable identifier Variable name
Mental health and Mental health and well-being PMH020 Feeling down, depressed or anxious (for
well-being at least 2 weeks) during last 12 months
(21 variables collected (2
optional, 19 compulsory), 1 PMH030 Impact of mental health and well-being
technical variable (optional)) on social activities
PMH040 Impact of mental health and well-being
on ability to work
PMH050 Main reason for being down, depressed
or anxious
PMH060 Consultation with a mental health
specialist/professional
PMH070 Unmet needs for a consultation with a
mental health specialist/professional
PMH080 Main reason for unmet needs for a
consultation with mental health
specialist/professional
PMH090 Possibility to discuss personal problems
PMH095 Formal education and training during
last 12 months (Optional)
PMH100 Good relationships in education and
training with peers, teachers and
lecturers
PMH105 Work during last 12 months (Optional)
PMH110 Good working relationships with
co-workers, managers or team
PMH120 Work-life balance
PMH130 Absence from work due to feeling
down, depressed, or anxious
PMH140 Frequency of sport
PMH150 Frequency of experiencing sleeping
difficulties
PMH160 Use of social media
PMH170 Experience of digital violence
PMH180 Burden of household chores
PMH190 Burden of daily management
responsibilities
PMH200 Feeling discriminated
PMH210 Mental health and well-being weights
(Optional)
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2026/324/oj 3/3