REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL

on the working of committees in 2021

1.Introduction

In line with Article 10(2) of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (the ‘Comitology Regulation’), the Commission hereby presents its annual report on the working of committees in 2021.

The report gives an overview of developments in 2021 in the ‘comitology’ system, which refers to the committees that the Commission consults on draft implementing acts. They are composed of representatives of all Member States, chaired by the Commission, and they follow different operating procedures depending on the basic act (cf. Table II).

The report provides a summary of the committees’ activities and it is accompanied by a staff working document containing detailed statistics on the work of the individual committees for each policy sector. It highlights the main changes and trends observed on an annual basis, presenting overall figures on meetings, procedures, opinions delivered (i.e. positive, negative or no opinion) and acts adopted. It also gives an overview of cases referred to the appeal committee and of objections from the European Parliament and the Council.

2.Overview of developments in the comitology system in 2021

2.1.General developments

The comitology committees were operating in 2021 under the procedures set out in the Comitology Regulation, i.e. advisory (Article 4) and examination (Article 5), as well as under the regulatory procedure with scrutiny set out in Article 5a of the Comitology Decision.

The prolonged pandemics of COVID-19 and the measures to contain it continued to limit the possibility of holding physical meetings of committees set up under the Comitology Regulation. Most committee meetings were therefore still held remotely (online). Remote meetings were treated as normal committee meetings, including for the purposes of the Comitology Register; they are listed as meetings and the summary record specifies that the meeting was held remotely.

As regards other areas beyond the functioning of comitology committees, the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 13 April 2016 recalls in its point 27 the need to align acts still refering to the regulatory procedure with scrutiny to the new legal framework introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon. Interinstitutional discussions continued on aligning the remaining basic acts, on the basis of the Commission’s proposals of 2019

(i.e. general and concerning the area of justice). However, negotiations did not progress in 2021 due to the limitations related to COVID-19.

The Commission proposal of 14 February 2017 on a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the Comitology Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 remains pending. This proposal put forward a number of targeted changes to the functioning of the appeal committee to address ‘no opinion’ situations in sensitive areas. Due to the very different positions of the co-legislators, it was not possible to progress in 2021.

The Commission continues to make draft texts for important delegated and implementing acts public for a 4 weeks period, allowing stakeholders to submit comments. In 2021, 85 draft implementing acts were published for public feedback on the ‘Have your say’ website.

2.2.Case-law developments

As regards case-law in the field of comitology, in its judgment of 27 January in case Republic of Poland v European Commission, the General Court provided an interpretation of the transitional provisions on qualified majority voting in the changeover from the Treaty of Nice to the Treaty of Lisbon voting rules. Under Article 3(2) of Protocol 36 of the Treaties, any Member State had the right, during a transitional period up to 31 March 2017, to request the application of the weighted voting system that applied under the Treaty of Nice. The General Court held the view that the Nice Treaty qualified majority (under Article 3(3) of Protocol 36) should still apply, if a Member State requested it before 31 March 2017, when the vote on the act takes place after that date.

In the case referred to the Court, the Commission refused Poland’s request to use the weighted voting system because the vote on that Decision would take place after 31 March 2017. The General Court annulled the Commission Implementing Decision and ordered that the Commission adopt a new Implementing Decision to replace the annulled one in accordance with the qualified majority rules under the Treaty of Nice. That new Decision, which the Court ordered to be in place within twelve months from the date of its judgment, was adopted on 30 November 2021.

3.Overview of activities

3.1.Number of committees

This report focuses exclusively on comitology committees which are set up by the legislator to assist the Commission in the exercise of the implementing powers that have been conferred upon it by basic legal acts. Other entities, in particular ‘expert groups’ set up by the Commission itself, are not covered in this report.