Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu, responding to a parliamentary question from Nikos Pappas (The Left) on 20 July 2026, acknowledged that the EU lacks comprehensive comparative data on violence and psychosocial risks against teachers, while signalling that the forthcoming Quality Jobs Act will include a review of workplace safety directives to better address psychosocial risks in education. The answer, which cites Eurostat and EU-OSHA data for Greece but offers no EU-wide figures, shifts responsibility to Member States for transposing existing health and safety law, while promising future EU action through the Union of Skills and the Teachers and Trainers Agenda.
Mînzatu’s response provides no new EU-wide statistics on violence against teachers, instead pointing to the 2024 ESENER survey and Eurostat accident data. For Greece, she noted that 85% of education-sector respondents reported dealing with difficult customers, pupils or patients — one of the highest rates in the EU — and that non-fatal accidents rose from 42 in 2021 to 54 in 2023, with no fatal accidents recorded between 2014 and 2023. The Commission’s assessment of the existing health and safety framework is that Directive 89/391/EEC already covers all occupational risks, including psychosocial ones, but that implementation is a matter for Member States.
On future initiatives, Mînzatu confirmed that the Commission is reviewing the Workplace Directive and Display Screen Directive as part of the Quality Jobs Act, with the aim of better addressing psychosocial risks while simplifying legislation and avoiding unnecessary burden on companies. She also referenced the planned EU Teachers and Trainers Agenda under the Union of Skills, which would cover teachers’ working conditions, and existing EU support for safe school environments through guidelines on well-being and mental health.
The answer is largely declarative, offering no concrete targets, deadlines, or legislative proposals beyond the ongoing review. The policy orientation is cautious: the Commission acknowledges the problem but defers action to the Quality Jobs Act and the Teachers and Trainers Agenda, both still under development. Institutional follow-up is expected when the Commission presents the Quality Jobs Act, likely in 2027, and the Union of Skills package, which may include specific measures on teacher safety.