Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION determining the composition of the European Economic and Social Committee
Date: 2018-11-28
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: EU Member State, European Economic and Social Committee, appointment of members, institutional structure

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 28.11.2018  COM(2018) 783 final 2018/0402 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION determining the composition of the European Economic and Social Committee  
 
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

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CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

Article 301 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides that the 
number  of  members  of  the  European  Economic  and  Social  Committee  (hereinafter  "the 
Committee")  shall  not  exceed  350  and  that  the  Council,  acting  unanimously  on  a  proposal 
from the Commission, shall adopt a decision determining the Committee's composition. 

Article 300(5) TFEU provides that the rules  governing the nature of the  composition  of the 
Advisory  Bodies  "shall  be  reviewed  at  regular  intervals  by  the  Council  to  take  account  of 
economic,  social  and  demographic  developments  within  the  Union.  The  Council,  on  a 
proposal from the Commission, shall adopt decisions to that end". 

As of 1 July 2013, the composition of the Committee was adapted by Article 23(1) of the Act 
concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of Croatia1 and Article 23(2) provided 
for a temporary increase of the number of the Committee members to 353 to take account of 
the accession of the Republic of Croatia. For the period 2015-2020, the Council adopted, on 
14 July 2015, the decision determining the composition of the Committee2 in order to comply 
with the maximum number of 350 provided for in the Treaty. It led to the reduction by one 
seat each of the Estonian, Cyprus and Luxembourg delegations. 

The current term of office of the European Economic and Social Committee will come to an 
end on 20 September 2020. Therefore, it is necessary that the Council adopts the decision on 
the composition of the Committee in time before the Council launches the procedure for the 
renewal of the Committee for the period 2020-2025.  

The  withdrawal  of  the  United  Kingdom  from  the  European  Union  on  30  March  2019  will 
result in 24 vacant seats in the Committee.  

The Commission is of the view that the current balance in the composition of the Committee 
should  be  maintained  as  far  as  possible,  as  it  is  the  result  of  successive  Intergovernmental 
Conferences.  

Therefore, it is proposed to restitute to Estonia, Cyprus and Luxembourg the three seats these 
Member States lost following the last decision determining the composition of the Committee 
and leave the rest of the vacated seats empty as a reserve for possible future enlargements. As 
a result, for the period 2020-2025, the Committee would be composed of 329 members. 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

• 

N/A 

1 

2 

Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of Croatia and the adjustments to the Treaty 
on European Union, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Treaty establishing 
the European Atomic Energy Community, OJ L 112, 24.4.2012, p. 6-110. 
Council Decision No 2015/1157/EU, OJ L 187, 15.7.2015, p. 28-29. 

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Consistency with other Union policies 

The  Commission  adopts  this  proposal  in  parallel  to  the  proposal  on  the  composition  of  the 
Committee  of  the  Regions.  The  parallelism  with  regard  to  the  allocation  of  seats  between 
Member States in both Committees is to be maintained. 

The  Treaties  make  no  provisions  on  the  method  of  composition  of  the  European  Economic 
and Social Committee or the Committee of the Regions within the maximum number of 350 
members.  This  is  in  contrast  to  the  criteria  for  the  composition  of  the  European  Parliament 
that are laid down in Article 14(2) of the Treaty on European Union. Whereas the Parliament 
is composed of directly elected representatives of the Union's citizens, the Committee consists 
of  representatives  of  employers,  of  employed  and  of  other  parties  representative  of  civil 
society  (Article  300(2)  TFEU).  Therefore,  ensuring  that  the  voice  of  employers,  employed 
and  of  the  civil  society  is  heard  in  the  Committee  should  be  the  primary  concern  when 
determining  the  new  composition  of  the  European  Economic  and  Social  Committee,  as 
opposed  to  establishing  a  direct  link  between  the  size  of  the  national  delegations  in  the 
Committee and the size of the respective populations of the Member States. 

2. 

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LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

The  proposal  is  based  on  the  Article  301  TFEU  which  provides  for  a  unanimous  Council 
decision determining the Committee's composition. 

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)  

Proportionality 

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N/A 

• 

N/A 

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Choice of the instrument 

The second paragraph of Article 301 TFEU provides that the Council, acting unanimously on 
a  proposal  from  the  Commission,  shall  adopt  a  decision  determining  the  Committee's 
composition. 

RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation 

3. 

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N/A 

• 

Stakeholder consultations 

In  preparing  the  current  proposal,  the  Commission  has  been  in  close  dialogue  with 
representatives of Member States and held several meetings with them. 

The European Economic and Social Committee sent to the Commission its recommendation, 
based on the decision of its Bureau on 18 September 20183, to restore three seats to Estonia, 

3 

Letter of the Committee’s President to the Commission of 4 October 2018. 

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Cyprus and Luxembourg which they had lost in 2015 and not to redistribute any other vacant 
seats, setting the number of members for the mandate of 2020-2025 at 329. 

Collection and use of expertise 

• 

N/A 

• 

Impact assessment 

This proposal is not accompanied by a specific impact assessment as it is not expected to have 
wider significant economic, social and environmental impacts. 

Regulatory fitness and simplification 

Fundamental rights 

• 

N/A 

• 

N/A 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

The reduced number of seats in consequence of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from 
the European Union could have a decreasing effect on the overall budget of the Committee. 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements 

Explanatory documents (for directives) 

5. 

• 

N/A 

• 

N/A 

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Entry into force 

It  is  proposed  that  the  Council  postpones  application  of  this  decision  until  the  day  after  the 
end of the current term of office of the Committee.  

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2018/0402 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

determining the composition of the European Economic and Social Committee 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 301 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

Article  300  of  the  Treaty  sets  out  the  rules  for  the  composition  of  the  European 
Economic and Social Committee. 
Council  Decision  (EU)  2015/11574  adapted  the  composition  of  the  European 
Economic and Social Committee following the accession of Croatia. Estonia, Cyprus 
and  Luxembourg  each  lost  one  seat  in  order  to  address  the  discrepancy  between  the 
maximum  number  of  the  members  set  by  the  Treaty  and  the  number  of  members 
following the accession of Croatia. 

The preamble to Decision 2015/1157/EU states that it is to be revised in time for the 
mandate of the Committee starting in 2020.  

On  18  September  2018,  the  European  Economic  and  Social  Committee  adopted 
recommendations to the Commission and to the Council on its future composition5.  

The  current  balance  in  the  composition  of  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee  should  be  maintained  as  far  as  possible,  as  it  is  the  result  of  successive 
Intergovernmental Conferences, 

The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union has resulted in 24 
vacant seats in the Committee. As a consequence, the balance in the allocation of seats 
existing before the adoption of Council Decision (EU) 2015/1157 can be restored, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

The composition of the membership of the European Economic and Social Committee shall 
be as follows: 

Article 1 

Belgium 

Bulgaria 

Czech Republic 

12 

12 

12 

4 

5 

Council  Decision  (EU)  2015/1157  of  14  July  2015  determining  the  composition  of  the  European 
Economic and Social Committee  (OJ L 187, 15.7.2015, p. 28). 
European Economic and Social Committee Bureau decision of 18 September 2018. 

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Denmark 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Croatia 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Luxembourg 

Hungary 

Malta 

Netherlands 

Austria 

Poland 

Portugal 

Romania 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

Sweden 

9 

24 

7 

9 

12 

21 

24 

9 

24 

6 

7 

9 

6 

12 

5 

12 

12 

21 

12 

15 

7 

9 

9 

12. 

This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union.  

Article 2 

It shall apply from 21 September 2020. 

This Decision is addressed to the Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

Article 3 

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For the Council 
The President 

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