The Committee of the Regions is an advisory body which ensures that local and regional authorities are represented in the framework of the European Union. Provided for in the Treaty on European Union, the Committee was created in 1994 and plays a complementary role in the decision-making process between the Commission, Parliament and Council. It allows representatives of local and regional authorities to give opinions on EU policies.

The 222 members of the Committee are nominated by the Council of the European Union for a renewable term of four years, at the recommendation of the respective Member States. Being municipal or regional politicians, the members of the Committee represent the entire range of local and regional government activities in the European Union.

The role of the Committee is to put forward the local and regional points of view as regards Community legislation. The cornerstone of its work is the drawing up of opinions on Commission proposals. The Committee of the Regions also helps the European Union to run smoothly by safeguarding the ‘subsidiarity principle’, according to which the Union should not intervene unless Community action would be more effective than national, regional or local action. 

Website of the Committee of the Regions