The Council of Europe initiated a follow-up project on “Enhancing health care and human rights protection in closed institutions in Romania”, further deepening the partnership with the Romanian authorities. This new phase officially commenced with the launching Steering Committee meeting on 24 February 2026.

The project will continue to assist Romania in further improving the provision of health care, including psychiatric care, for individuals in detention. All interventions are aligned with the Council of Europe standards and European Court of Human Rights case law, as well as the specific needs identified by the stakeholders. Project activities will build upon the results already achieved, with the aim of consolidating outcomes and ensuring their sustainability.

The Steering Committee members, representatives of the project partners and beneficiary institutions, including the Ministry of Health, National Administration of Penitentiaries and Ministry of Justice, reaffirmed their strong commitment to ongoing progress. They reviewed current needs and priorities, discussed specific forthcoming actions and approved the project’s overall Work Plan.

The current phase of the project will be focused on piloting two big-scale training programmes on forensic psychiatry and mental health nursing, developed last year with Council of Europe’s support. These innovative programmes will enhance professionalism of staff, allowing them to improve the quality of the mental health care provision, both in prisons and civilian facilities.

The project is funded and implemented by the Council of Europe.