Committee of the Regions
Conner Joseph Murillo & Muhammad Bilal (2023)
Abstract:
In the European Union, the Committee of the Regions plays the role of an advisory committee whose sole purpose is to provide specific information using a wide array of representatives from various regions and municipalities throughout the EU. Due to this specialized role, there are many questions concerning the legitimate impact the CoR provides as a body of the European Union. Its opinions can be requested by EU bodies who desire consultation on legislation relevant to specific regions or the Committee can produce its own opinions where they determine their expertise is relevant. Generally, the opinions have a positive impact on EU policies but sometimes the provided opinions can have little to no impact and even be ignored by other bodies of the EU. Literature and research on the topic that isn’t outdated, is sparse and therefore provides a data gap that we aim to fill with our project.
This research project aims to dive into the ways in which the Committee influences EU policymaking through various channels, direct instruments, informal instruments, and indirect instruments. For the direct instruments of the CoR, the project looks into the opinions that have been provided throughout recent years and measures their impact on legislation, EU institutions, and non-EU organizations. For informal instruments, the focus is shifted towards the various conferences and workshops held by the committee yearly which potentially provide ways in which the CoR can collaborate with EU institutions and relevant NGOs. Lastly, the indirect instruments look to understand the influence of membership within the CoR. As the role is unpaid and is typically a secondary job for members, it is important to understand why a representative would see participating in the Committee of the Regions as beneficial to their region or municipality and themselves.
The Understanding of the impact of the Committee of the Regions in this research project intends to provide a new method of gauging the influence the committee has on the EU policy-making process and all bodies interacting with the EU, both the institutions and external entities. In addition, learning the motives behind regional representatives' desire to be a part of the CoR provides new insight into the various paths of CoR influence.
To read the Master Project in its entirety, click here.