REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION on the working of Committees during 2016
Date: 2017-10-16
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: EU control, activity report, comitology, committee (EU), official statistics, power of implementation

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 16.10.2017  
COM(2017) 594 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

on the working of Committees during 2016 

{SWD(2017) 337 final} 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
  
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

ON THE WORKING OF COMMITTEES DURING 2016 

In accordance 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  powers1  (the  ‘Comitology  Regulation’),  the  Commission  hereby 
presents the annual report on the working of committees for 2016. 

This  report  gives  an  overview  of  developments  in  the  comitology  system  in  2016  and  a 
summary  of  the  committees’  activities.  It  is  accompanied  by  a  staff  working  document 
containing detailed statistics on the work of the individual committees. 

1. 

OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS IN THE COMITOLOGY SYSTEM IN 2016 

1.1  General development 

As described in the 2013 annnual report2, all comitology procedures provided for in the ‘old’ 
Comitology  Decision3,  with  the  exception  of  the  regulatory  procedure  with  scrutiny  (RPS), 
were automatically adapted to the new comitology procedures provided for in the Comitology 
Regulation (Regulation (EU) 182/2011). 

In 2016, the comitology committees were therefore operating 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  (RPS)  set  out  in  Article  5a  of  the  Comitology 
Decision. 

The Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 13 April 20164 recalls the need to 
align the regulatory procedure with scrutiny: 

"The  three  institutions  acknowledge  the  need  for  the  alignment  of  all  existing  legislation  to 
the legal framework introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, and in particular the need to give high 
priority to the prompt alignment of all basic acts which still refer to the regulatory procedure 
with scrutiny. The Commission will propose that latter alignment by the end of 2016." 

In line with this commitment, the Commission adopted a new proposal for the alignment of 
the  basic  acts  providing  for  the  regulatory  procedure  with  scrutiny  to  delegated  and 
implementing acts5. It also adopted a second proposal, dealing specifically with the alignment 

1 

2 
3 

4   
5 

Regulation  (EU)  No  182/2011  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  16  February  2011 
laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of 
the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13). 
Report from the Commission on the working of committees during 2013, COM(2014)572 final. 
Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 (OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23), as amended by Council 
Decision 2006/512/EC (OJ C 255, 21.10.2006, p. 4). 
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32016Q0512(01)&from=EN). 
Proposal  for  a  REGULATION  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT  AND  OF  THE  COUNCIL 
adapting  a  number  of  legal  acts  providing  for  the  use  of  the  regulatory  procedure  with  scrutiny  to 
Articles 290 and 291 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (COM(2016)799). 

2 

 
 
 
                                                            
 
of  basic  acts  in  the  field  of  justice6.  The  interinstitutional  negotiations  on  both  files  have 
started in 2017.  

In 2016 the Commission reported7 on the functioning of Regulation 182/2011, five years after 
its entry into force.  

In September 2016 the President of the Commission in his State of the Union address to the 
European Parliament announced a Commission initiative to enhance the democratic character 
of the comitology procedure by stating: 'It is not right that when EU countries cannot decide 
among themselves whether or not to ban the use of glyphosate in herbicides, the Commission 
is  forced  by  Parliament  and  Council  to  take  a  decision.  So  we  will  change  those  rules  – 
because that is not democracy.8'. 

As  follow  up  to  the  President's  statement,  the  Commission  adopted  on  13  February  2017  a 
proposal  for  a  Regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  amending 
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 (COM(2017) 85/3). 

As  of  the  1st  of  July  2016,  the  Commission  started  publishing  draft  implementing  acts  and 
draft Regulatory Procedure with Scrutiny acts for a four-week public feedback period9. This is 
an important element in the new transparency approach and comes following the commitment 
undertaken  in  the  2015  Better  Regulation  Communication10:  "Important  implementing  acts 
which  are  subject  to  Committee  opinion  will  also  be  made  public  for  four  weeks,  allowing 
stakeholders  to  submit  comments  before  any  vote  by  Member  States  in  the  relevant 
Committee". Once the feedback received is assessed, the draft act is submitted for the vote of 
the  relevant  committee.  During  the  committee  meeting  the  Commission  explains  how  the 
feedback was taken into account and includes this explanation in the summary record of the 
meeting (which is publicly available in the Comitology Register11).  

1.2 

Development of case law 

With  reference  to  the  judgment  of  the  Court  of  Justice  of  1  March  2016  in  Case  C-440/14, 
National Iranian Oil Company v Council, which does not directly concern the exercise by the 
Commission  of  its  implementing  powers,  but  it  is  important  in  view  of  the  reasons  which 
justify in certain exceptional cases the granting of implementing powers to the Council12.  

6 

7 

8 
9  
10  
11  
12  

Proposal  for  a  REGULATION  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT  AND  OF  THE  COUNCIL 
adapting a number of legal acts in the area of Justice providing for the use of the regulatory procedure 
with scrutiny to Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (COM(2016)798). 
Report  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the  implementation  of 
Regulation (EU) 182/2011 (COM(2016)92). 
State of the Union Address 2016: https://ec.europa.eu/priorities/state-union-2016_en 
https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say_en  
Communication "Better regulation for better results - An EU agenda", COM(2015) 215 final 
http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regcomitology/index.cfm  
C-440/14 P - National Iranian Oil Company v Council 

3 

 
 
                                                            
2. 

OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES 

2.1 

Number of committees and meetings 

It is important to distinguish between the comitology committees on the one hand, and other 
entities, in particular ‘expert groups’ created by the Commission itself, on the other. The latter 
provide  expertise  to  the  Commission13  in  preparing  and  implementing  policy  as  well  as 
delegated acts, whereas comitology committees assist the Commission in the exercise of the 
implementing powers that have been conferred upon it by basic legal acts. This report focuses 
exclusively on  comitology  committees. The number of active comitology  committees  in  the 
period 1 January to 31 December 2016 was calculated by sector of activity (see Table I). The 
figures  for  the  previous  year  (on  31 December  2015)  are  also  given  for  purposes  of 
comparison.  Sections  and  configurations  are  not  counted  separately  as  these  belong  to  a 
parent committee. 

TABLE I — TOTAL NUMBER OF COMMITTEES 

Policy sector 

2016 

2015 

AGRI   (Agriculture and Rural Development 
BUDG   (Budget) 
CLIMA   (Climate Action) 
CNECT   (Communications Networks, Content and Technology) 
DEVCO   (International Cooperation and Development) 
DIGIT   (Informatics) 
EAC   (Education and Culture) 
ECFIN   (Economic and Financial Affairs) 
ECHO   (Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection) 
EMPL   (Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion) 
ENER   (Energy) 
ENV   (Environment) 
ESTAT   (Eurostat) 
FISMA   (Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital markets Union) 
FPI   (Service for Foreign Policy Instruments) 
GROW   (Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs) 
HOME   (Migration and Home Affairs) 
JUST   (Justice and Consumers) 
MARE   (Maritime Affairs and Fisheries) 
MOVE   (Mobility and Transport) 
NEAR   (Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations) 
OLAF   (European Anti-Fraud Office) 
REGIO   (Regional and Urban Policy) 
RTD   (Research and Innovation) 
SANTE   (Health and Food Safety) 
SG   (Secretariat-General) 
TAXUD   (Taxation and Customs Union) 
TRADE   (Trade) 

TOTAL: 

17 
2 
5 
6 
5 
1 
2 
1 
2 
5 
14 
30 
6 
8 
4 
41 
13 
23 
4 
31 
3 
1 
1 
5 
21 
3* 
11 
12 
277 

18 
2 
5 
5 
5 
2 
5 
1 
2 
4 
14 
31 
6 
8 
4 
43 
11 
21 
4 
30 
3 
1 
1 
5 
21 
3* 
11 
14 
280 

* Including the appeal committee (for the needs of the comitology register, the appeal committee is registered as a committee 
under the responsibility of SG; in practice, it is managed by all services concerned). 

13 

For more details see: http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/index.cfm.  

4 

 
 
                                                            
In 2016, the comitology committees could generally be broken down according to the type of 
procedure under which they operated (advisory procedure, examination procedure, regulatory 
procedure  with  scrutiny  —  see  Table  II).  Certain  committees  which  applied  multiple 
procedures have been separated from committees operating under a single procedure. 

TABLE II — NUMBER OF COMMITTEES BY PROCEDURE (2016) 

Type of procedure 

Advisory 

Examination 

Regulatory with 
scrutiny 

AGRI 
BUDG 
CLIMA 
CNECT 
DEVCO 
DIGIT 
EAC 
ECFIN 
ECHO 
EMPL 
ENER 
ENV 
ESTAT 
FISMA 
FPI 
GROW 
HOME 
JUST 
MARE 
MOVE 
NEAR 
OLAF 
REGIO 
RTD 
SANTE 
SG 
TAXUD 
TRADE 

TOTAL: 

0 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
2 
0 
0 
0 
0 
6 
2 
7 
0 
3 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 
2 
25 

11 
1 
1 
3 
2 
1 
1 
0 
1 
0 
6 
6 
2 
1 
3 
9 
8 
5 
2 
8 
1 
1 
0 
4 
10 
2 
8 
4 
101 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
2 
3 
5 
0 
2 
0 
4 
0 
4 
0 
4 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
24 

Operates under 
several 
procedures 
6 
0 
4 
3 
3 
0 
1 
1 
1 
3 
3 
19 
4 
5 
1 
22 
3 
7 
2 
16 
1 
0 
1 
1 
11 
1 
2 
6 
127 

TOTAL: 

17 
2 
5 
6 
5 
1 
2 
1 
2 
5 
14 
30 
6 
8 
4 
41 
13 
23 
4 
31 
3 
1 
1 
5 
21 
3 
11 
12 
277 

* Including the appeal committee. 

The  number  of  committees  is  not  the  only  indicator  of  activity  at  comitology  level.  The 
number  of  meetings  held,  as  well  as  the  number  of  written  procedures14  used  in  2016,  also 
reflects  the  intensity  of  work  in  general,  both  at  sector  level  and  in  individual  committees 
(Table III). 

14 

The  committee  voting  can  take  place  in  a  regular  committee  meeting  or,  in  duly  justified  cases,  by 
written procedure, in accordance with Article 3(5) of the Comitology Regulation. 

5 

 
 
  
 
                                                            
TABLE III — NUMBER OF MEETINGS AND WRITTEN PROCEDURES 

Number of 
committees  

Meetings 

Written procedures 

2016 

2015 

2016 

2015 

AGRI 
BUDG 
CLIMA 
CNECT 
DEVCO 
DIGIT 
EAC 
ECFIN 
ECHO 
EMPL 
ENER 
ENV 
ESTAT 
FISMA 
FPI 
GROW 
HOME 
JUST 
MARE 
MOVE 
NEAR 
OLAF 
REGIO 
RTD 
SANTE 
SG 
TAXUD 
TRADE 

TOTAL 

17 
2 
5 
6 
5 
1 
2 
1 
2 
5 
14 
30 
6 
8 
4 
41 
13 
23 
4 
31 
3 
1 
1 
5 
21 
3 
11 
12 
277 

* 5 meetings of the appeal committee. 

111 
4 
7 
18 
18 
2 
5 
0 
4 
4 
12 
26 
6 
11 
5 
63 
36 
22 
6 
52 
7 
1 
1 
57 
117 
5* 
50 
24 
674 

145 
4 
6 
15 
16 
3 
4 
1 
6 
4 
16 
38 
6 
8 
2 
76 
29 
10 
11 
51 
7 
2 
1 
57 
106 
5* 
65 
25 
719 

7 
0 
1 
12 
11 
0 
3 
0 
4 
1 
4 
11 
5 
13 
2 
36 
65 
4 
5 
25 
12 
1 
0 
263 
437 
0 
22 
38 
982 

10 
0 
1 
11 
7 
0 
1 
0 
5 
5 
2 
12 
5 
9 
3 
28 
31 
5 
4 
22 
19 
0 
0 
205 
437 
1 
20 
25 
868 

2.2 

Number of opinions and implementing acts/ measures 

As  always,  this  report  provides  overall  figures  on  the  formal  opinions  delivered  by  the 
committees  and  the  subsequent  implementing  acts/measures  adopted  by  the  Commission15. 
These figures quantify the tangible ‘output’ of the committees (see Table IV). Out of the total 
number of draft implementing acts submitted to the committeess in 2016, the EP adopted 12 
resolutions on the basis of Article 11 of the Comitology Regulation, while the Council has not 
adopted any such resolution. 

15 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  there  can  be  discrepancies  between  the  number  of  opinions  and  the  number  of 
implementing acts/measures in any given year. The reasons for these are explained in the introduction 
to the accompanying staff working document. 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
TABLE IV — NUMBER OF OPINIONS AND IMPLEMENTING ACTS/MEASURES ADOPTED 

Opinions16 

Implementing Acts 
adopted 

RPS Measures 
adopted 

AGRI 
BUDG 
CLIMA 
CNECT 
DEVCO 
DIGIT 
EAC 
ECFIN 
ECHO 
EMPL 
ENER 
ENV 
ESTAT 
FISMA 
FPI 
GROW 
HOME 
JUST 
MARE 
MOVE 
NEAR 
OLAF 
REGIO 
RTD 
SANTE 
SG 
TAXUD 
TRADE 

2015 
116 
4 
7 
20 
57 
1 
5 
1 
9 
9 
8 
37 
16 
16 
4 
74 
63 
9 
15 
55 
65 
0 
1 
266 
736 
11 
82 
56 
1 743 
*   Including 11 opinions delivered by the appeal committee and 9 adopted acts. 

2016 
110 
7 
7 
20 
57 
1 
4 
0 
7 
4 
8 
38 
11 
28 
2 
84 
76 
6 
10 
65 
64 
2 
2 
270 
717 
11* 
82 
75 
1 768 

2016 
105 
0 
6 
14 
55 
1 
4 
0 
4 
3 
4 
13 
3 
28 
0 
45 
61 
6 
10 
44 
65 
2 
1 
191 
632 
9 
67 
75 
1 448 

2015 
116 
4 
7 
12 
58 
1 
2 
1 
11 
6 
1 
16 
6 
10 
0 
37 
42 
9 
15 
46 
65 
0 
1 
223 
671 
23 
65 
58 
1 506 

TOTAL 

2016 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
6 
11 
5 
0 
0 
21 
0 
0 
0 
17 
0 
0 
0 
0 
55 
0 
0 
0 
116 

2015 
1 
0 
1 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
6 
11 
10 
6 
0 
13 
0 
1 
0 
17 
0 
0 
0 
0 
62 
0 
0 
0 
129 

2.3  Meetings of the appeal committee 

The appeal committee met 5 times during 2016, and discussed 11 draft implementing acts (in 
the areas of health and consumer policy and mobility and transport) which were referred by 
the  Commission.  The  appeal  committee  delivered  no  opinion  in  11  cases.  The  Commission 
decided to adopt 9 implementing acts. 

16  

A vote resulting in "no opinion" is counted towards the total number of opinions. 

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2.4 

Use of the regulatory procedure with scrutiny (RPS) 

As  mentioned  under  Section  1,  the  RPS  has  not  been  affected  by  the  comitology  reform  of 
2011.  This  procedure  can  no  longer  be  used  in  new  legislation,  but  it  still  appears  in  many 
existing basic acts and will continue to apply under those acts until they are aligned. In 2016 
108 measures were adopted according to the RPS (see Table V). The right to oppose was used 
once, by the European Parliament. In 2015, by comparison, the right to oppose was not used. 

TABLE V — NUMBER OF MEASURES ADOPTED ACCORDING TO THE REGULATORY 
PROCEDURE WITH SCRUTINY (RPS) 

AGRI 
BUDG 
CLIMA 
CNECT 
DEVCO 
DIGIT 
EAC 
ECFIN 
ECHO 
EMPL 
ENER 
ENV 
ESTAT 
FISMA 
FPI 
GROW 
HOME 
JUST 
MARE 
MOVE 
NEAR 
OLAF 
REGIO 
RTD 
SANTE 
SG 
TAXUD 
TRADE 

TOTAL 

RPS Measures 
adopted 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
6 
11 
5 
0 
0 
21 
0 
0 
0 
17 
0 
0 
0 
0 
47 
0 
0 
0 
108 

EP opposed adoption of draft 
measures under RPS 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 
0 
0 
0 
1 

Council opposed adoption of 
draft measures under RPS 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

3. 

Detailed information on the activities of the committees 

The  working  document  accompanying  this  report  provides  detailed  information  about  the 
work  of  the  individual  committees  in  2016,  broken  down  on  the  basis  of  the  different 
Commission departments concerned. 

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3. 

CONCLUSION 

The European Parliament and the Council are invited to take note of this Report.  

9