European Committee of the Regions


The European Committee of the Regions is the European Union's assembly of local and regional representatives that provides sub-national authorities with a direct voice within the EU's institutional framework.
Established in 1994, the CoR was set up to address two main issues. First, about three quarters of EU legislation is implemented at local or regional level, so local and regional representatives needed to have a say in the development of new EU laws. Second, there were concerns about a widening gap between the public and the process of European integration; involving the elected level of government closest to the citizens was one way of closing the gap.

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
; Proximity
; Partnership

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 to approach the European Court of Justice now that the Treaty of Lisbon has entered into force following ratification by all EU Member States.

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. Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the Parliament of the German-speaking Community of Belgium was elected President of the European Committee of the Regions on 12 July 2017. On 12 February 2020, he was replaced by Apostolos Tzitzikostas.

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. Markku Markkula, member of the Espoo City Council was elected First Vice-President of the European Committee of the Regions on 12 July 2017. On 12 February 2020, he was replaced by .

Bureau

The Bureau is the executive body of the CoR. It comprises 61 members: the President, the First Vice-President, the Presidents of the 6 political groups, one vice-president per Member State, 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.

CoR commissions

The CoR structures its work by means of six thematic commissions, which specialise in topical areas:
They prepare draft opinions and hold conferences and seminars focused on their areas of competence. Each commission has approximately 100 members and is supported by a secretariat within the administration. A special Commission for Financial and Administrative Affairs is also established to assist the CoR Bureau.

Political groups

The CoR has six political groups: the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, the European People’s Party, Renew Europe, the European Alliance, the European Conservatives and Reformists and The Greens. The members of each political group meet before major meetings to adopt common positions.

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. 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

Compared to the substantially increased role of the CoR in the global EU framework, as indicated by the Lisbon Treaty, the CoR remains a lean and very efficient organisation, which makes it the third smallest EU institution in terms of budgetary needs. The CoR's 2013 budget represents only 0.06% of the total EU budget. Its 2014 budget breakdown according to purpose of expenditure is as follows: 39.7% - Consultative Works ; 30.3% - Translation, Interpretation and Print ; 30% - Administration and Functioning. The CoR's 2015 budget was €89.2M. Although all CoR expenditure formally falls under Heading 5 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 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. 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
; 1995 — EU enlargement
; 1997 — Amsterdam Treaty
; 2001 — Nice Treaty
; 2002–03 — Convention on the Future of the EU
; May 2004 — EU enlargement
; February 2006 — New term of office
; January 2007 — EU enlargement
; December 2007 — Lisbon Treaty
July 2013 — EU enlargement

Early 2020 — [Brexit] and Greens

Following Brexit, 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.