Mr. Ciarán Cuffe:

It is good to come back in. The issue around European competencies in health is an interesting one. As the main responsibility for health comes down to the member states, the Union was caught on the back foot in spring of this year. The treaties, and I think it is Article 168, allow for public health to be a shared competence between the EU and member states. There is a wish that is led by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to move more strongly in terms of co-operation on health issues. I think that would include mental health because the treaties do talk about promoting healthier lifestyles and better access to healthcare. There is the potential for a greater involvement of the Union in the delivery of health or certainly the co-ordination of healthcare at a Union level.

Moving on to discussing the issues around the future of Europe, the Greens-European Free Alliance, Greens-EFA, have published a few position papers on this over the years. Views within my group are somewhat split. There is a strong push for a federal Europe, led by many of my German colleagues, which would not be shared by others, myself included. I think the member states are important but we do want to see more accountability and transparency by the European Council, which is a common concern that has been raised by many across the Parliament. We want to see citizens' participation on decision-making become much stronger within Europe. We have also discussed the idea of having a constitution for Europe, which was very much in vogue a few years ago. We still think that there are common values and a wish to have solidarity throughout the 27 member states so perhaps a constitution might do that.

That is where things are on the two questions about health and the future of Europe. I am more than happy to send on copies of our position papers on the future of Europe to anyone who would like to receive them.