Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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I thank all the witnesses for taking the time to link up with us this afternoon. I am sure they are very busy in the European Parliament. I congratulate them on their election. There was a gruelling campaign and they did very well. I congratulate them on taking up their roles in committees in the European Parliament. We miss the Deputies and Senators who have been elected and we will deal with the by-elections that they have left us with in due course. I thank them very much for that.

The European Parliament elections were very interesting in that the European People's Party and the Socialists and Democrats no longer command a majority. There were gains for Renew Europe and the Greens. It is quite a fragmented Parliament. Do the witnesses believe there is any fallout from the appointment of the new President of the European Commission, in that the Spitzenkandidat system broke down and the European Council leaders did their own thing? Is there bad feeling about that? The mechanism for making major appointments in Brussels seemed a bit unseemly from this distance.

To follow on from that, it is suggested that Ursula von der Leyen had to rely in the European Parliament on votes from far right and populist MEPs from Italy, Poland and Hungary. Is she compromised in that regard, in that she will not be seen to be effectively doing everything possible to ensure the rule of law is enforced at European Union level? This is related to some of the questions some of my colleagues asked.

I have a final question. The Brexit situation is unfolding as we speak and every day there is a new development. The UK Supreme Court's judgment today is significant. How do the MEPs and other movers and shakers in Europe feel about another request for an extension of Article 50? It must be a genuine possibility arising from developments today.