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

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 28.11.2018 COM(2018) 782 final 2018/0401 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION determining the composition of the Committee of the Regions  
 
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

• 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

Article 305 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides that the 
number of members of the Committee of the Regions (hereinafter "the Committee") shall not 
exceed 350.  

Until  the  entry  into  force  of  the  Lisbon  treaty,  the  composition  of  the  Committee  was  laid 
down in the Treaties. Henceforth, the second paragraph of Article 305 TFEU provides that the 
Council,  acting  unanimously  on  a  proposal  from  the  Commission,  shall  adopt  a  decision 
determining the Committee's composition. 

It should be recalled that 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 24(1) of the Act 
concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of Croatia1 and Article 24(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 16 
December  2014  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 for the Estonian, Cyprus and Luxembourg delegations. 

The  current  term  of  office  of  the  Committee  will  come  to  an  end  on  25  January  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 they 
lost following the last decision determining the composition of the Committee and leave the 
rest  of  the  vacated  seats  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 2014/930/EU, OJ L 365, 19.12.2014, p. 143-144. 

EN 

1 

  EN 

 
                                                 
• 

Consistency with other Union policies 

The  Commission  adopts  this  proposal  in  parallel  to  the  proposal  on  the  composition  of  the 
Economic  and  Social  Committee.  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 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 regional and local bodies (Article 300(3) TFEU). Therefore, ensuring that 
the voice of regions and local bodies is heard in the Committee should be the primary concern 
as opposed to establishing a direct link to the size of the respective populations of the Member 
States. 

The  Communication  ‘The  principles  of  subsidiarity  and  proportionality:  Strengthening  their 
role in the EU’s policy making’3 shows ways to ensure that local and regional authorities and 
their  organisations  can  more  effectively  engage  in  the  preparation  and  implementation  of 
Union policies, and sees an important role of the Committee of the Regions in facilitating this. 

2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

The  proposal  is  based  on  the  Article  305  TFEU,  which  provides  for  a  unanimous  Council 
decision determining the Committee's composition.  

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)  

Proportionality 

• 

N/A 

• 

N/A 

• 

Choice of the instrument 

The second paragraph of Article 305 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. 

• 

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 Committee sent 
to the Commission its recommendation, based on the decision of its Bureau on 3 July 20184, 

3 
4 

COM(2018) 703 final, adopted on 23 October 2018. 
Letter of the Committee’s President to the Commission of 27 July 2018. 

EN 

2 

  EN 

 
                                                 
to  restore  three  seats  to  Estonia,  Cyprus  and  Luxembourg  and  not  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 might 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 

• 

Entry into force 

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

EN 

3 

  EN 

 
2018/0401 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

determining the composition of the Committee of the Regions 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 305 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 Committee of the 
Regions.  
Council  Decision  (EU)  2014/9305  adapted  the  composition  of  the  Committee  of  the 
Regions  following  the  accession  of  Croatia.  Estonia,  Cyprus  and  Luxembourg  each 
lost  one  seat  in  order  to  address  the  discrepancy  between  the  maximum  number  of 
members  set  by  the  Treaty  and  the  number  of  members  following  the  accession  of 
Croatia.  

The preamble to Decision (EU) 2014/930 states that it is to be revised in time for the 
mandate of the Committee starting in 2020. 

On  3  July  2018,  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  adopted  recommendations  to  the 
Commission and to the Council on its future composition6. 

The  current  balance  in  the  composition  of  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  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) 2014/930 can be restored, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

The composition of the membership of the Committee of the Regions shall be as follows: 

Article 1 

Belgium 

Bulgaria 

Czech Republic 

Denmark 

Germany 

12 

12 

12 

9 

24 

5 
6 

Council Decision No 2014/930/EU, OJ L 365, 19.12.2014, p. 143-144. 
Committee of the Regions Bureau decision of 3 July 2018. 

EN 

4 

  EN 

 
                                                 
Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Croatia 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Luxembourg 

Hungary 

Malta 

Netherlands 

Austria 

Poland 

Portugal 

Romania 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

Sweden 

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 26 January 2020. 

This Decision is addressed to the Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

Article 3 

For the Council 
The President 

EN 

5 

  EN