ECR Member Roberto Ciambetti's opinion on the Future of the European Health Union was adopted by overwhelming majority during the commission for natural resources' (NAT) March meeting. As the opinion prepares to be adopted at the European Committee of the Regions' May plenary session, Mr Ciambetti thanked everyone for their contributions to the opinion and described it as "document of extreme importance for its medical and health value".

The ECR member, who also serves as President of the Veneto Regional Council, aimed to obtain a clear and unequivocal recommendation, which reaffirms in Europe the right of all citizens to health defined as a "state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not simply the absence of illness". In this regard, Mr Ciambetti reaffirms the centrality of cities and territories in medical-health matters, as well as in the policies connected to them "because a modern health care disconnected from territorial management is unthinkable".

The opinion looks at the experience gained so far from the pandemic, which has proven that cities and regions are not only at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic but in every case when it comes to protecting the well-being of citizens. They play a "fundamental role" and are called to be the real actors in the future of health due to their proximity to citizens, their ability to react to emergencies, and their role in a health system that cannot be "disconnected either from the territory or from the characteristics of the local socio-economic fabric".

Looking at the future of health, Mr Ciambetti emphasized that "there is no health or well-being without the concrete involvement of those who are in daily contact with citizens". For him, the principle of subsidiarity proves to be an essential operational principle of reference: "regions and cities must be protagonists in the management of EU policies in order to give substance to decisions and measures quickly and promptly".

The opinion also highlights that the pandemic has shown that there must be no borders when it comes to medical rescue, and once again calls for the need to deepen and improve more and more operational strategies, forms of prevention and information in the medical-health field between regions bordering on each other. This would help to "optimise actions, prevention and containment of diseases and their spread".