Committee of the Regions

The Committee of the Regions (CoR) is the political assembly that provides local and regional authorities with a voice at the heart of the European Union.

Established in 1994, the CoR was set up to address two main issues. Firstly, since around three quarters of EU legislation is implemented at local or regional level, it makes sense for local and regional representatives to have a say in the development of new EU laws. Secondly, there were concerns that the public was being left behind as the EU steamed ahead. Involving the elected level of government closest to the citizens was one way of closing the gap.

With the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the role of the CoR will be strengthened along the entire legislative process. The new treaty obliges the European Commission to consult with local and regional authorities and their associations across the EU as early as the pre-legislative phase, and the CoR, in its role as the voice of local and regional authorities at the EU level, is heavily involved right from this early stage.

The Committee of the Regions currently has 353 members and the same number of alternate members from all 28 member states. Members and alternates are appointed for a five-year term by the Council, acting on proposals from the member states. Each country chooses its members in its own way, but the delegations all reflect the political, geographical and regional/local balance in their member state. The members are elected members of or key players in local or regional authorities in their home region.

Source: Committee of the Regions