REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the working of committees in 2021
Date: 2022-09-09
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: EU control, activity report, comitology, committee (EU), official statistics, power of implementation

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 9.9.2022  COM(2022) 443 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the working of committees in 2021 {SWD(2022) 279 final}  
 
 
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  powers1  (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  sector2.  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 Decision3. 

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. 

regards  other  areas  beyond 

the 
As 
Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of 13 April 20164 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 

functioning  of  comitology  committees, 

the 

OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13. 

1 
2   As covered by the Commission departments dealing with the respective policy areas. 
3   Council  Decision  1999/468/EC  of  28  June  1999  laying  down  the  procedures  for  the  exercise  of 

4   

implementing powers conferred on the Commission (OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23). 
Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the 
European Commission on Better Law-Making of 13 April 2016 (OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1).  

1 

 
                                                           
aligning  the  remaining  basic  acts,  on  the  basis  of  the  Commission’s  proposals  of  2019  
(i.e. general5 and concerning the area of justice6). 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 
pending7. 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’ website8.  

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  Commission9,  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 202110.  

5  

6 

7  

8  
9  

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 final,  
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). 
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) 085 final). 
https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say_en  
Judgment  of  the  General  Court  of  27  January  2021,  Case  T-699/17,  Republic  of  Poland  v  European 
Commission, ECLI:EU:T:2021:44, paragraph 60. 

10   Commission  Implementing  Decision  (EU)  2021/2326  establishing  best  available  techniques  (BAT) 
conclusions,  under  Directive  2010/75/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council,  for  large 
combustion plants 

2 

 
                                                           
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.  

Table  I  presents  the  number  of  comitology  committees  that  existed  during  the  period  of  
1 January to 31 December 2021, with the figures for the previous year added for comparison. 
These figures were provided by the relevant Commission departments and are taken from the 
accompanying staff working document. 

TABLE I — TOTAL NUMBER OF COMMITTEES 

Commission department 

2020 

2021 

AGRI   (Agriculture and Rural Development 
BUDG   (Budget) 
CLIMA   (Climate Action) 
CNECT   (Communications Networks, Content and Technology) 
DEFIS   (Defence Industry and Space) 
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) 
INTPA (International Partnerships)  
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: 

* Including the appeal committee 11 

11 
2 
5 
9 
5 
1 
2 
1 
2 
5 
14 
27 
2 
11 
2 
38 
19 
5 
26 
3 
32 
3 
1 
1 
17 
34 
4 
26 
14 

12 
2 
5 
11 
13 
1 
4 
2 
2 
6 
14 
27 
2 
11 
1 
39 
20 
3 
28 
3 
33 
3 
1 
2 
31 
33 
3 
28 
13 

322 

353 

In 2021, there were 353 comitology committees that existed during the year12. 

11   The appeal committee is registered in the Comitology Register as a committee under the responsibility of 

the Secretariat-General. In practice, however, it is managed by all departments concerned. 

3 

 
                                                           
This number includes all the committee configurations13 and represents approximately a 10% 
increase in the number of committees compared to 2020. One particular factor explaining this 
increase  is  that  2021  was  a  transition  year  during  which  the  new  generation  of  MFF14 
programmes and funds began and new MFF regulations / basic acts entered into force, in most 
instances  repealing  the  old  ones15.  As  a  result,  in  several  cases  ’old’  and  ‘new’  committees 
existed - for different parts of the year - for such basic acts. Taking into account all cases of 
committees abolished in the year, the total number of the committees in existence at the end 
of the year (31 December 2021) was 317, which is very similar to 2020 (322). 

TABLE II — NUMBER OF COMMITTEES BY PROCEDURE 

Type of procedure 

Commission department 
AGRI 
BUDG 
CLIMA 
CNECT 
DEFIS 
DIGIT 
EAC 
ECFIN 
ECHO 
EMPL 
ENER 
ENV 
ESTAT 
FISMA 
FPI 
GROW 
HOME 
INTPA 
JUST 
MARE 

MOVE 

NEAR 

OLAF 

REGIO 

RTD 

SANTE 

SG* 

TAXUD 

TRADE 

TOTAL: 

Advisory 

Examination 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 
2 
0 
1 
0 
0 
3 
1 
0 
8 
0 

3 

1 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

3 

4 
1 
1 
6 
4 
1 
4 
1 
1 
1 
6 
8 
0 
4 
1 
9 
17 
3 
11 
3 

9 

2 

1 

0 

24 

13 

2 

13 

4 

Regulatory 
with scrutiny 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
2 
1 
4 
0 
2 
0 
2 
0 
0 
4 
0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Multiple 
procedures 
8 
1 
4 
5 
9 
0 
0 
1 
1 
3 
5 
16 
1 
5 
0 
26 
3 
0 
5 
1 

21 

1 

0 

2 

7 

22 

1 

15 

7 

TOTAL: 

12 
2 
5 
11 
13 
1 
4 
2 
2 
7 
14 
27 
2 
11 
1 
39 
20 
3 
28 
3 

33 

3 

1 

2 

31 

33 

3 

28 

14 

23 

154 

15 

170 

353 

* Including the appeal committee 

12   This figure - as presented in Table II - indicates the total number of committees that existed in 2021, for the 
entire  year  or  only  part  of  it.  Some  committees  were  abolished  during  the  year;  their  work  output  is, 
however, counted and included in the figures presented in Tables III and IV. 
In a few basic acts the legislator has provided for specific configurations of the committee. 

13  
14   Multiannual Financial Programme (for the 2021-2027 programming period) 
15  

In certain cases, the repeal is accompanied by a provision [in the new basic act] stating that the new basic 
act ‘should  not affect the continuation or  modification of actions initiated pursuant to [the old basic act], 
which shall continue to apply to those actions until their closure’. 

4 

 
 
                                                                                                                                                                                     
Table II shows a breakdown of the committees in 2021 by type of procedure under which they 
operated  (i.e.  advisory  procedure,  examination  procedure,  regulatory  procedure  with 
scrutiny).  Committees  with  multiple  procedures  have  been  separated  from  those  operating 
under a single procedure. 

3.2. 

Number of meetings  

The  number  of  committee  meetings  is  one  of  the  indicators  of  activity  at  comitology  level. 
Combined with the number of written procedures16, it reflects the intensity of work, both at 
sectoral level and in individual committees (see Table III). 

TABLE III — NUMBER OF MEETINGS AND WRITTEN PROCEDURES 

Commission department 

Number of 
committees  

Meetings 

Written procedures 

2020 

2021 

2020 

2021 

AGRI 
BUDG 
CLIMA 
CNECT 
DEFIS 
DIGIT 
EAC 
ECFIN 
ECHO 
EMPL 
ENER 
ENV 
ESTAT 
FISMA 
FPI 
GROW 
HOME 
INTPA 
JUST 
MARE 
MOVE 
NEAR 

OLAF 

REGIO 

RTD 

SANTE 

SG* 

TAXUD 

TRADE 
TOTAL: 

12 
2 
5 
11 
13 
1 
4 
2 
2 
6 
14 
27 
2 
11 
1 
39 
20 
3 
28 
3 
33 
3 

1 

2 

31 

33 

3 

28 

79 
1 
7 
12 
14 
2 
2 
5 
8 
3 
12 
20 
3 
14 
4 
35 
47 
9 
9 
0 
44 
7 

0 

1 

32 

93 

6 

32 

14 
353 

13 
514 

121 
6 
5 
13 
36 
0 
8 
2 
8 
0 
10 
24 
3 
14 
3 
33 
41 
19 
30 
4 
61 
7 

0 

1 

41 

93 

6 

39 

18 
646 

69 
5 
8 
17 
6 
0 
1 
0 
6  
1 
3 
9 
11 
14 
3 
48 
38 
51 
3 
15 
41 
66 

0 

0 

275 

678 

2 

26 

73 

104 
2 
8 
21 
12 
0 
12 
0 
8 
0 
0 
20 
16 
17 
0 
62 
38 
168 
6 
16 
37 
41 

0 

7 

148 

634 

6 

23 

70 

1 469 

1 476 

* Including meetings/written procedures of the appeal committee 

16   Committee  voting  can  take  place  at  a  regular  committee  meeting  or,  in  duly  justified  cases,  by  written 

procedure, in line with Article 3(5) of the Comitology Regulation. 

5 

 
                                                           
There  were  646  meetings  in  2021,  which  is  significantly  more  than  in  2020,  with  1 476 
written procedures.  

3.3. 

Number of opinions and implementing acts 

This  report  also  gives  an  indication  on  the  tangibe  output  of  the  committees.  Table  IV 
presents  overall  figures  on  the  formal  opinions  delivered  by  the  committees  and  the 
subsequent implementing acts adopted by the Commission17. 

TABLE IV — NUMBER OF OPINIONS AND IMPLEMENTING ACTS ADOPTED 

Commission department 

Opinions18 

AGRI 
BUDG 
CLIMA 
CNECT 
DEFIS 
DIGIT 
EAC 
ECFIN 
ECHO 
EMPL 
ENER 
ENV 
ESTAT 
FISMA 
FPI 
GROW 
HOME 
INTPA 
JUST 
MARE 
MOVE 
NEAR 

OLAF 

REGIO 

RTD 

SANTE 
SG* 

TAXUD 

TRADE 
TOTAL: 

2020 
102 
3 
10 
28 
8 
1 
3 
10 
8 
3 
5 
19 
12 
11 
3 
61 
69 
58 
3 
15 
59 
66 
0 

0 

275 

749 

1 

56 

80 

2021 
101 
2 
9 
43 
19 
0 
8 
1 
8 
0 
3 
24 
16 
22 
0 
62 
67 
168 
9 
16 
64 
40 
0 

7 

149 

818 

2 

50 

76 

1718 

1782 

Implementing acts 
adopted 

2020 

2021 

100 
3 
6 
23 
7 
1 
3 
10 
7 
2 
1 
11  
12 
        12 
1 
44 
11 
58  
2 
16 
59 
65 

0 

0 

191 

748 

1 

54 

81 
1529 

100 
1 
9 
41 
14 
0 
8 
0 
9 
0 
0 
15 
15 
18 
0 
31 
36 
167 
8 
9 
61 
40 

0 

5 

110 

775 

2 

47 

71 
1592 

Parliament 
resolutions 
/Council decisions  
(Art. 11) 
2021 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 (Council) 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 

0 

10 (Parliament) 

0 

0 

0 

11 

*   Further information on the work/opinions of the appeal committee is provided in TABLE V. 

The committees delivered 1782 opinions in 2021, slightly more than in 2020 (1718), in line 
with  the  increased  number  of  committees.  The  number  of  implementing  acts  adopted 
following a committee procedure, 1592 in 2021, was also a bit higher than in 2020 (1529).  

17 

There  can  be  discrepancies  between  the  number  of  opinions  and  of  implementing  acts/measures  in  any 
given year. The reasons are explained in the introduction to the accompanying staff working document. 

18   A vote resulting in ‘no opinion’ is counted in the total number of opinions. 

6 

 
 
                                                           
The  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  have  a  right  of  scrutiny  under  Article  11  of  the 
Comitology  Regulation.  In  2021,  the  European  Parliament  adopted  10  resolutions19  on  the 
basis  of  Article  11  of  the  Comitology  Regulation,  all  concerning  acts  of  DG  SANTE.  The 
Council exercised its right to scrutiny on one occasion20, concerning an act of DG GROW.  

3.4.  Meetings of the appeal committee 

As indicated in Table V, the appeal committee met six times during  2021, and discussed 12 
draft implementing acts which the Commission referred to it. Using written consultations as 
regards 10 draft acts and voting in a meeting with respect to 2, it delivered a ‘no opinion’ in 
11 cases and a positive opinion in 1 of them21. The Commission adopted all 12 implementing 
acts following the appeal committee.  

TABLE V — ACTIVITY OF THE APPEAL COMMITTEE 

Commission department 

MOVE 
SANTE 
TRADE 
TOTAL: 

Number of 
meetings/written 
consultations of the appeal 
committee 

Number of opinions22 of the 
appeal committee 

Number of acts adopted 
following an opinion of the 
appeal committee 

2020 
1 
3 
1 
5 

2021 
1 / 0 
14 / 14 
1 / 0 
16 / 14 

2020 
1 
9 
1 
11 

2021 
1 (0) 
10 (10) 
1 (1) 
12 

2020 
1 
3 
1 
5 

2021 
1 
10 
1 
12 

3.5. 

Use of the regulatory procedure with scrutiny  

The Comitology Regulation maintained the effects of the regulatory procedure with scrutiny 
for the purposes of existing basic acts referering to it23. 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 the respective empowerments are aligned to empowerments  for either 
delegated or implementing acts (as indicated in Section 1.1).  

In 2021, 68 measures were adopted according to the regulatory procedure with scrutiny (see 
Table VI below), which is somewhat higher than in 2020 when that number stood at 55.  

The right to oppose acts under the regulatory procedure of scrutiny was used twice in 2021 by 
the  European  Parliament  and  was  not  used  by  the  Council.  For  comparison,  in  2020,  the 
European Parliament opposed four times, whereas the Council did not use this right. 

19   This  list  does  not  include  the  European  Parliament’s  resolution  (2021/2594(RSP))  on  the  adequate 
protection  of  personal  data  by  the  United  Kingdom,  in  which  it  ‘objected  to  the  two  draft  implementing 
acts’ in question, but without specifically basing itself on Article 11 of the Comitology Regulation. 

20   Since the entry into force of the Comitology Regulation this was the first occasion the Council used its right 

of scrutiny by opposing to a draft implementing act of the Commission. 
21   Further details are available in the accompanying staff working document. 
22   The  term  ‘opinion’  also  includes  the  scenario  where  the  formal  outcome  is  a  ‘no  opinion’  meaning  that 
there is no required majority in either sense. The number of ‘no opinions’ is indicated in parentheses. 

23   Article 12, second paragraph of the Comitology Regulation. 

7 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
TABLE  VI  —  NUMBER  OF  MEASURES  ADOPTED  ACCORDING  TO  THE  REGULATORY 
PROCEDURE WITH SCRUTINY  

Commission department 

Regulatory procedure with 
scrutiny - measures 
adopted 

European Parliament 
opposed adoption of 
draft measures  

Council opposed 
adoption of draft 
measures  

AGRI 

BUDG 

CLIMA 

CNECT 

DEFIS 

DIGIT 

EAC 

ECFIN 

ECHO 

EMPL 

ENER 

ENV 

ESTAT 

FISMA 

FPI 

GROW 

HOME 

INTPA 

JUST 

MARE 

MOVE 

NEAR 

OLAF 

REGIO 

RTD 

SANTE 

SG 

TAXUD 

TRADE 

TOTAL: 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

6 

3 

4 

0 

10 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

45 

0 

0 

0 

68 

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 

2 

0 

0 

0 

2 

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 

0 

4. 

CONCLUSION 

The activity of committees continued in 2021 at levels comparable to previous years, with an 
increase  in  the  total  number  of  committees  and  opinions  delivered:  there  were  353 
committees,  which  held  646  meetings,  carried  out  1476  written  procedures  and  delivered 
1782  opinions.  They  provide  valuable  assistance  to  the  Commission  for  exercising  the 
implementing powers conferred on it by the co-legislators. 

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

8