Europe is facing a set of hidden epidemics: a deepening mental-health divide, rising addiction and behavioural risks, and policy systems still built for yesterday’s challenges. To understand what’s driving these pressures, and why the EU keeps struggling to respond, we spoke with two insiders: MEP Tomislav Sokol and Ivan Duškov, Deputy Director of Czechia’s General Health Insurance Company and member of the government’s mental-health council. In the latest episode of the EU Perspectives podcast, they walk us through what solutions are actually within reach.