European Committee of the Regions

History

Within the European Union, local and regional authorities have lobbied for an increased say in EU affairs. This resulted in the creation of the European Committee of the Regions by the Maastricht Treaty, and the provision for Member States to be represented in the Council of the EU by ministers from their regional governments.

Principles

There are three main principles at the heart of the committee's work:

; Subsidiarity : This principle, enshrined into the Treaties at the same time as the creation of the CoR, means that decisions within the European Union should be taken at the closest practical level to the citizen. The European Union, therefore, should not take on tasks which are better suited to national, regional or local administrations. ; Proximity : All levels of government should aim to be 'close to the citizens', in particular by organising their work in a transparent fashion, so people know who is in charge of what and how to make their views heard. ; Partnership : Sound European governance means European, national, regional and local government working together – all four are indispensable and should be involved throughout a "multi-level governance" decision-making process.

Scope

The Treaties oblige the European Commission and the Council of the European Union to consult the Committee of the Regions whenever new proposals are made in areas that have repercussions at regional or local level. Outside these areas, the commission, Council and European Parliament have the option to consult the CoR on issues if they see important regional or local implications to a proposal. The CoR can also draw up an opinion on its own initiative, which enables it to put issues on the EU agenda.

The CoR has gained the right (semi-privileged status) to approach the European Court of Justice now that the Treaty of Lisbon has entered into force following ratification by all EU Member States (Article 8, Protocol (No. 2) on the Application of the Principles of Subsidiarity and Proportionality).

Composition

The CoR has 329 full members and the same number of alternate members. The number from each EU country reflects the size of its population, but ranges from a representation of an average of 88087 citizens of Malta per seat to 3.45 million citizens per German seat. Its members are locally and regionally elected representatives including mayors, regional presidents and councillors. The numbers per country are as follows:

Internal structure

President

Elected for a two-and-a-half-year term at the plenary assembly, the President guides the committee's work, chairs plenary sessions and is the CoR's official representative.

List of presidents

First Vice-President

The First Vice-president is also elected by the plenary assembly for two-and-a-half years and represents the president in the latter's absence. Juanma Moreno (Spain / European People's Party, EPP), President of the Regional Government of Andalusia, was elected First Vice-president of the European Committee of the Regions on 19 February 2025.

Bureau

The Bureau is the executive body of the CoR. It comprises 61 members: the president, the First Vice-president, the presidents of the six political groups, one vice-president per member state (27), and 26 other members from the national delegations, enabling it to reflect national and political balances. The Bureau generally meets seven or eight times a year to draw up the CoR policy programme and instructs the administration on the implementation of its decisions.

Plenary assembly

The members of the CoR meet in plenary session in Brussels six times a year, to discuss and adopt opinions, reports and resolutions.

Committee for Financial and Administrative Affairs

CoR commissions

The CoR structures its work by means of six thematic commissions, which specialise in topical areas:

• CIVEX: citizenship, governance, institutional and external affairs
• COTER: territorial cohesion policy;
• ECON: economic policy;
• ENVE: environment, climate change and energy;
• NAT: natural resources and agriculture;
• SEDEC: social policy, employment, education, culture and research.

They prepare draft opinions and hold conferences and seminars focused on their areas of competence. Each commission has approximately 100 members (each member can be part of two commissions) and is supported by a secretariat within the administration. A special Commission for Financial and Administrative Affairs (CFAA) is also established to assist the CoR Bureau.

Political groups

The CoR has six political groups: the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (PES), the European People's Party (EPP), Renew Europe (RE), the European Alliance (EA), the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR Group) and The Greens (GRE). The members of each political group meet before major meetings to adopt common positions, membership of the plenary body is as follows, with 15 seats currently vacant:

Conference of Presidents

The CoR president, first vice-president, presidents of the political groups and the secretary general gather within a Conference of Presidents before each plenary session and other important meetings, with the aim of reaching a political consensus on strategic questions.

National delegations

The CoR also comprises 27 national delegations. Members meet in their national delegations before plenary sessions and other events to discuss common positions.

Secretary-General

The Secretary-General is appointed for five years by the Bureau. As head of the CoR administration, the Secretary-General must not hold a political mandate. He is responsible for implementing President's and Bureau decisions and the smooth running of the CoR administration. Petr Blížkovský is the CoRs' Secretary-General since 16 December 2019.

Secretariat-General

The Secretariat-General consists of five directorates: Members and Plenaries; Legislative Work 1; Legislative Work 2; Communication; Human Resources and Finance. The Logistics and Translations Directorates are jointly managed with the European Economic and Social Committee. The total number of CoR staff in 2015 was 527.

Budget

The CoR's 2013 budget (€36.5M) represents 0.06% of the total EU budget which makes it the third smallest EU institution in terms of budgetary needs. Its 2014 budget (€90.2M) breakdown according to purpose of expenditure is as follows: 39.7% – Consultative Works (€35.8M); 30.3% – Translation, Interpretation and Print (€27.2M); 30% – Administration and Functioning (€27M). The CoR's 2015 budget was €89.2M. Although all CoR expenditure formally falls under Heading 5 (Administrative expenditure) of the EU Budget, as is the case for the European Parliament budget, a substantial part of its budget relates to non-administrative expenditure. Most obvious examples are all CoR expenses related to its Members and their political activities.

Work

Opinions

The European Commission, Council of Ministers and European Parliament consult the CoR when drawing up legislative texts (directives, regulations, etc.) on areas affecting local and regional authorities. The draft texts are forwarded to the relevant CoR commission. A rapporteur is then appointed to draw up the committee's opinion. This draft opinion must be adopted by the CoR commission before being discussed at the plenary session. Once it has been approved in plenary, the official opinion is sent to all the European institutions and published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Resolutions

Resolutions enable the committee to express its view on important and topical issues. The CoR's political groups or 32 CoR members can draw up resolutions.

Studies and other publications

The CoR produces studies on various aspects of the local and regional dimension of the EU (education, transport, social issues, enlargement, etc.). They are drawn up with the help of outside experts. The CoR also produces publications for both the general public and for regional and local players, aimed at explaining its activities and outlining current political developments.

Events

As a meeting place for regions and cities, the CoR organises conferences, seminars and exhibitions in cooperation with local and regional partners and other EU institutions. Once a year, during the European Week of Regions and Cities, the CoR welcomes to its headquarters thousands of participants who take part in lively discussions or seek partners to collaborate on joint projects.

Key dates

; 1992 – Maastricht Treaty : EU leaders decide to set up the Committee of the Regions (CoR) as a consultative assembly which will provide regions and cities with a voice in the EU decision-making process and act as a direct link between Brussels and the citizens. The Treaty makes it mandatory for the European Commission and the Council of Ministers to consult the CoR on key areas of regional concern. CoR members are to be nominated by the governments of Member States and will serve for four years. In March 1994 the CoR holds its first plenary session in Brussels. ; 1995 – EU enlargement : The CoR's membership increases from 189 to 222, following the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden. ; 1997 – Amsterdam Treaty : Extends the CoR's remit to cover around two thirds of the EU's legislative proposals. The Treaty also makes it possible for the Committee to be consulted by the European Parliament. ; 2001 – Nice Treaty : Underlines the democratic legitimacy of the CoR by requiring that its members are elected or politically accountable to an elected regional or local assembly. Caps the number of members at 350. ; 2002–03 – Convention on the Future of the EU : CoR members take part in the convention responsible for drafting an EU constitution. The text expressly recognises the role and powers of local and regional government; it also gives the CoR the right to go to the Court of Justice of the European Communities to challenge EU laws which do not comply with the principle of subsidiarity. ; May 2004 – EU enlargement : Number of CoR members increases from 222 to 317, following the accession of 10 new Member States. ; February 2006 – New term of office : The CoR starts a new four-year term. Its political priorities include boosting the role of local and regional authorities in line with the Lisbon Strategy for Jobs and Growth, strengthening cohesion and solidarity, and spearheading the 'Communicating Europe – Going local' campaign to bring the EU closer to its citizens. ; January 2007 – EU enlargement : With the accession of Bulgaria and Romania, the number of CoR members rises from 317 to 344. ; December 2007 – Lisbon Treaty : The Lisbon Treaty confirms the CoR's right to appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Communities to safeguard its prerogatives and the subsidiarity principle – a right already recognised by the Convention on the Future of the EU. This new entitlement will strengthen the CoR's political role, by enabling it to act more effectively on the EU stage for the benefit of regional and local authorities. The Lisbon Treaty extends the term of office of CoR members from four to five years. July 2013 – EU enlargement : Number of CoR Members increases from 344 to 353, following the accession of Croatia (CoR members later decreased to 350). Early 2020 – Brexit and Greens

Following Brexit (31 January), the number of CoR Members decreased to 329 due to the removal of the 24 members from the United Kingdom. As of February, a new Political Group was represented in the CoR, The Greens.

Criticism

In 2020, the Committee of the Regions was criticized for its 20-year-old unresolved case of Robert McCoy, a former internal auditor, who has been severely harassed after he blew the whistle on "fraud and embezzlement" at the EU body. In his speech before the European Parliament, McCoy claimed the CoR had run "a vindictive campaign" against him and "denigrated" his personal and professional reputation. That issue made the Committee receive criticism also from the Dutch MEP Sophie in 't Veld, who used to work for the Committee of the Regions. She told Parliament that from her experience, the administration at the CoR had been "totally incompetent and rotten to the core". She also accused the CoR of being stuck in "full denial mode" and suggested potential budgetary sanctions. One of the leading critics of the Committee of the Regions' inaction on this issue was also the Czech MEP Tomáš Zdechovský: "When I look at this case, it reminds me of the American film 'Groundhog Day' where the protagonist becomes trapped in a time loop".

References

References

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