Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on "The participation of regional government representatives in the work of the Council of the European Union, and of the CoR in informal Council meetings"
Date: 2001-11-14
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: Council of the European Union, European Committee of the Regions, cooperation policy, regional authority

3.5.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 107/5

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on ‘The participation of regional government
representatives in the work of the Council of the European Union, and of the CoR in informal
Council meetings’

(2002/C 107/03)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to Article 203 of the EC Treaty, which opens up the possibility for full participation of
regional government members in the activities of the Council of the European Union by stating that: ‘The
Council shall consist of a representative of each Member State at ministerial level, authorised to commit
the government of that Member State’;

having regard to the fact that the right of regional and local authorities to take part in European Union
policy and decision-making furthers the fundamental objective of Article 1 of the Treaty on European
Union, according to which: ‘decisions are taken as openly as possible and as closely as possible to the
citizen’, while also promoting the principle of subsidiarity, as laid down in Article 5 of the Treaty
establishing the European Community, which stipulates that the Community shall take action in areas
which do not fall within its exclusive competence only if and insofar as the objectives of the proposed
action cannot be sufficiently achieved at the national — and regional or local — level;

having regard to the Opinions and Resolutions in which it called for the full and generalised application
of this right and thus a wider involvement of the regional and local authorities in European policy-
making, and more specifically;

— its Opinion on the Revision of the Treaty on European Union and of the Treaty establishing the

European Community (CdR 136/95) (1);

— its supplementary Opinion on The application of the principle of subsidiarity in the European Union

(CdR 136/95);

— its Report on Regional and local authorities: protagonists in the political union of Europe (CdR

282/96 fin);

— its Opinion on Developing a genuine culture of subsidiarity. An appeal by the Committee of the

Regions (CdR 302/98 fin) (2);

— its Resolution of 3 June 1999 on the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) (CdR 54/1999 fin) (3);

— its Opinion on the Implementation of EU law by the regions and local authorities (CdR 51/1999

fin) (4);

— the final declaration approved by the members of the Committee of the Regions and the leaders of
Europe’s regional, municipal and local authorities at the Conference on New forms of Governance
in Europe: Towards more democracy and grass-roots representation, held in Lille on 9 November
2000 (CdR 379/2000 fin);

— its Resolution on The outcome of the 2000 intergovernmental conference and the discussion on the

future of the European Union (CdR 430/2000 fin) (5);

having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau on 12 December 2000, under the fifth paragraph of
Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, to draw up an opinion on ‘The
participation of regional government representatives in the work of the Council of the European Union,
and of the CoR in informal Council meetings’ and to assign its preparation to the Commission for
Institutional Affairs;

having regard to the draft opinion adopted unanimously by the Commission for Institutional Affairs on
5 October 2001 (rapporteurs: Mr Martini, President of the Tuscany Region (I-PES) and Mr Schausberger,
Governor of Salzburg (A-EPP) (CdR 431/2000 rev. 2);

(1) OJ C 100, 2.4.1996, p. 1.
(2) OJ C 198, 14.7.1999, p. 73.
(3) OJ C 293, 13.10.1999, p. 74.
(4) OJ C 374, 23.12.1999, p. 29.
(5) OJ C 253, 12.9.2001, p. 25.

C 107/6

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

3.5.2002

having regard to point 12 of the final declaration (PE 219.693 / DEF) of the first conference of the
European Parliament and the regional and local authorities of the European Union, held in October 1996
and entitled ‘For a Europe based on Democracy and Solidarity’; in this point the Member States are called
upon to facilitate the participation of regional authorities with legislative powers in Council of Ministers’
meetings;

whereas the participation of the regional and local authorities in EU policy and decision-making has been
advocated in;

— the Declaration on Regionalism in Europe adopted by the Assembly of European Regions in 1996;

— the Draft European Charter of Regional Self-Government adopted in 1997 by the Council of

Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe;

— the debate on the report of the working party set up by the secretary-general of the Council (Trumpf-
Piris report): ‘Operation of the Council with an enlarged Union in prospect’ , Brussels 1999, during
which the German and Austrian Länder argued in favour of the regions taking part in the work of
the Council;

— the initiatives of the Assembly of European Regions and the Council of Europe, where, with the
involvement of many applicant country regions, there has been a strong call for the participation of
the regions, including those of the future Member States of the European Union, in European
legislative activity;

— section 3.1 (Reaching out to citizens through regional and local democracy) of the Commission

White Paper on European governance, COM(2001) 428 final of 25 July 2001;

whereas it is appropriate for the Committee of the Regions to express its opinion on this subject in order
to contribute to the debate on the future of
the European Union in the run-up to the 2004
intergovernmental conference, on which the debate has been opened in the White Paper on European
governance,

unanimously adopted the following opinion at its 41st plenary session held on 14 and 15 November
2001 (meeting of 14 November).

Viewpoints and recommendations of the Committee of
the Regions

institute suitable national mechanisms for enabling members
of regional governments to effectively take part in meetings of
the Council of Ministers;

1. General proposals

The Committee of the Regions

1.1.
affirms the readiness of the regional and local auth-
orities it represents to make their experience and specific skills
available with a view to the full application of Article 1 of the
Treaty on European Union, on the basis of which, in the
process of creating an ever closer union among the peoples of
Europe, decisions are to be taken ‘as openly as possible and as
closely as possible to the citizen’;

expresses its conviction that the direct participation of
1.2.
the regions, within the framework of the delegations of the
Member States, in the work of the Council (Article 203 of the
EC Treaty) would bring Europe closer to the public, by
involving more tiers of government;

1.3.
reminds Member States under whose legislation
regions have legislative powers, that the final declaration of
the first conference of the European Parliament and the
regional and local authorities of the European Union: ‘For a
Europe based on Democracy and Solidarity’, called on them to

1.4. maintains that by being more closely involved in the
legislative process, regions with democratic legitimacy and
legislative powers could secure greater transparency and
proximity with regard to public demands, in accordance with
the ‘Declaration on the future of the Union’, and hopes that as
a preliminary there will be a clearer definition/delimitation
of their responsibilities before the 2004 intergovernmental
conference;

regions,

recognises the differing tasks and responsibilities allo-
1.5.
cated to the local and regional authorities within the individual
Member States. The Committee would refer specifically to the
legislative powers of the regions in Finland (the Åland Islands),
Belgium (three
communities), Germany
three
(16 Länder), Austria (nine Länder), Spain (17 autonomous
(two autonomous regions), United
communities), Portugal
Kingdom (three parliaments, or regional assemblies),
Italy
(20 regions and two autonomous provinces). The above-
mentioned regional authorities give policy a specific legitimacy,
through legislation and because they are genuinely accountable
to their own citizens;

3.5.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 107/7

1.6.
draws the attention of all tiers of European government
to the fact that stepping up the regions’ participation in the
policy and decision-making of the European institutions, and
above all the Council, helps increase the democratic legitimacy
of
the institutions and provides a major opportunity to
increase awareness in all the Member States of the European
Union’s ideals and capacity for development, while promoting
the individuality and specific characteristics of each of Europe’s
regional and local authorities. The opportunities for the
participation of the local and regional authorities should be
developed and strengthened with due regard to the different
situations in the Member States.

2. Coordinating the various tiers of national govern-

ment

The Committee of the Regions

endorses the practice adopted in many Member States
2.1.
of making information on European policy development and
the relevant national guidelines available to the regional and
local authorities and of giving them the opportunity to express
their views, but draws attention to the analysis in the White
the
Paper on European governance, which suggests that
national governments are not involving the local and regional
players appropriately in the preparation of their positions on
EU policies;

2.2.
hopes that within all the Member States, national
positions on European issues will be reached by means of
the national,
increased involvement and coordination of
regional and local tiers;

is persuaded that in the light of the above, all EU
2.3.
Member States should undertake to foster methods of involv-
ing regional and local authorities in the European policy and
decision-making processes. This will make it possible, with
due regard to the subsidiarity principle, to give all decentralised
levels access to the benefits and opportunities of economic,
social and regional development offered by European policies,
while respecting the various constitutional arrangements of
each State;

2.5.
urges the Member States to extend these information
and consultation procedures to all areas that might concern
the regional and local authorities;

2.6.
notes that this direct participation presupposes an
effective domestic system for reaching national standpoints.
This system must not, however, stand in the way of direct,
active participation of the regions at EU level, within the
framework of the delegations of the Member States. Partici-
patory processes and bodies differ from one country to
another. Direct participation will bring the regions of individ-
ual States closer to each other and strengthen their bonds of
solidarity as they define and defend their points of view; at the
same time, direct participation must succeed in expressing the
common interests voiced by the regions and by the associations
of local authorities during the coordination process conducted
within each country;

the Council

(PE 294.777), which states that

2.7.
welcomes the support of the European Parliament’s
Committee on Constitutional Affairs in its report on Reform
of
‘efficient
coordination upstream of Community decisions within each
Member State must include mechanisms, in accordance with
their respective constitutional rules, to involve the national
in federal or highly regionalised States,
parliaments and,
the regional authorities,
in preparations for the European
legislative process, including, where appropriate, participation
in the Council itself, according to Article 203 of the EC Treaty’.
This report also suggests the introduction, in connection with
enhancing the role of the General Affairs Council, of ‘a special
procedure for involving the regions in countries with a federal
constitution or a high degree of regionalisation.’;

awaits with interest

2.8.
the report commissioned by
the Helsinki European Council on Member States’ internal
coordination procedures for Community issues and stresses
the need to enable Member States to be represented in each
Council formation as they deem appropriate on the basis of
their own internal organisation;

2.4.
welcomes moves to extend the participation of regional
and local authorities and their representative associations at
national level when establishing national positions on EU-
related matters within the Member States, in cases where EU
law concerns the competences and areas of activity of the
regional and local authorities as this improves the democratic
legitimacy of the decisions; and recommends that such rights
to information and participation be given a high level of legal
guarantee;

2.9.
expects the regions of the Member States to be involved
in the preparations for the Laeken European Summit at which,
in accordance with point 17 of the Presidency Conclusions of
the Gothenburg European Summit, recommendations for
further measures for more efficient Council working pro-
cedures following enlargement are to be adopted. These
procedures must ensure the involvement of the national and
regional parliaments, as called for in the Declaration on the
Future of the Union.

C 107/8

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

3.5.2002

3. The participation of regional government representa-
tives in the activities of the Council of the European
Union and of the Committee of the Regions in
informal Council meetings

The Committee of the Regions

3.1.
calls for the direct participation of regional authority
representatives in the Council, as part of the delegations of the
Member States, as this is of fundamental importance for the
smooth running of the Union and reflects the principles of
fairness, collaboration, cooperation and trust between the
regions and their respective national States. Differences in
Member States’ systems of government must be taken into
account in developing the opportunities for participation by
regional authority representatives;

3.2.
calls for such participation in Council meetings in all
cases involving regional competences of a legislative, regulat-
ory or executive nature or where the issues concerned are of
particular interest to the overall system of regional and local
authorities;

3.3.
confirms that the regional representatives should be
made fully-fledged participants in Council meetings as mem-
bers of the national delegations, and that they should be
authorised to lead the national delegation and, if necessary,
assume the presidency of the Council of Ministers. The regional
participants in the Council represent all the regions with
powers in the sectors concerned, and express positions agreed
within the national delegation as a whole. The internal
mechanisms for deciding the national delegation’s position at
the Council and the procedure for nominating the regional
representatives of each Member State should be governed by
the national legislative provisions of the Member States;

3.4.
calls for the participation of regional representatives in
the national delegations as this would bolster the position of
the Member States, as they would be able to take account
simultaneously of the national distribution of competences
and interests, of the views expressed by local tiers of govern-
ment during the national coordination process, and of the
unitary action of the Member State within the Council of the
European Union;

Brussels, 14 November 2001.

calls for the participation of regional representatives in

3.5.
the following Council bodies:

— Council working parties and ad hoc working parties;

— the Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER);

— the various Council formations.

Participation in all the preparatory phases of Council decision-
making is necessary to ensure that all
issues that are the
specific responsibility of the regional and local authorities or
are of special interest to them, are dealt with jointly in a
comprehensive and effective manner;

3.6.
calls on Member States to ensure that they consider
the positions of the regions and national federations of local
authorities on areas of relevance to their competences or
interests in cases where the regions have no opportunity for
formal representation within the Council and its preparatory
committees;

3.7.
calls for the participation of the Committee of the
Regions in the informal Councils dealing with Community
policies that fall within its areas of mandatory consultation
and that particularly concern the competences of local and
this would strengthen the local and
regional authorities;
regional dimension within the Council and would be of great
service to the objectives of transparency and proximity set by
the Heads of State or Government in the Declaration on the
future of the Union that is annexed to the Treaty of Nice;

3.8.
calls, consequently, on the future presidencies of the
Union, and the Belgian and Spanish presidencies in particular,
to establish a long-term mechanism for the participation of
the Committee of the Regions in the work of informal Council
meetings,
in order to enable the CoR to take part in the
political debate of the Community in its capacity as a political
body of the European Union;

3.9.
calls, finally, for a protocol to be annexed to the
Treaty following the 2004 intergovernmental conference
guaranteeing the participation of the Committee of the Regions
in informal Council meetings, and the formal as well as
informal involvement of the regional and local authorities in
the decision-making processes of the European Union.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Jos CHABERT