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Comitology in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
refers to a process by which EU law is implemented, modified or adjusted and takes place within "comitology committees" chaired by the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
. The official term for the process is committee procedure. Comitology committees are part of the EU's broader system of committees that assist in the making, adoption, and implementation of EU laws. The
Lisbon Treaty The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member sta ...
reconfigured comitology system, codifying it in Articles 290 and 291
TFEU The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) is one of two treaties forming the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU), the other being the Treaty on European Union (TEU). It was previously known as the Treaty Establishi ...
. Article 290 TFEU introduced the
delegated act Primary legislation and secondary legislation (the latter also called delegated legislation or subordinate legislation) are two forms of law, created respectively by the legislative and executive branches of governments in representative democ ...
which is now used to amend or supplement EU legislation, whereas beforehand this was also done through comitology. Article 291 TFEU continues to provide for
implementing acts Primary legislation and secondary legislation (the latter also called delegated legislation or subordinate legislation) are two forms of law, created respectively by the legislative and executive branches of governments in representative democ ...
through comitology. Under the EU institutions' 2016 Common Understanding on Delegated Acts, comitology has been re-introduced for the adoption of delegated acts under Article 290 TFEU.


Background and history

All legislatures have a system of delegating detailed implementing measures to the executive. At EU level too, the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...
and the
Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...
can confer such powers on the Commission. However, the Commission must act in conjunction with committees of representatives of member states who often have the power to block the Commission and refer the matter to the Council. It is the confusing number of committees that gave rise to the term "comitology". A report from the
British House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...
said, "There is no definitive list of comitology committees, their functions, activities and membership"; however, since the European Commission started to maintain a list, it states that "A list of 'comitology' committees ..is published as an Annex to the Annual reports on the work of these Committees ..as well as in the Register of Comitology." Moreover, the strongest criticism pertained to the fact that the elected European Parliament (EP) had no right to block implementing measures: only the comitology committees could do so, and if they did, the proposal was referred to Council alone, even when the initial delegation of powers was through an act adopted jointly by both Parliament and Council under the co-decision procedure. Parliament argued that the system lacked transparency and democratic control. After years of complaint by Parliament, a significant reform placing Parliament and Council on an equal footing was to be introduced by the Constitutional Treaty. Since the latter did not get ratified, the Parliament insisted that the envisaged changes would be introduced through secondary law. An agreement was reached in 2006 and a new procedure, the regulatory procedure with scrutiny, was introduced, to be used when non-essential elements of EU legislation adopted under the co-decision procedure required amendment or supplementation. The procedure gives Parliament and Council a period (normally of three months) to examine proposals that have been through a comitology committee. If Parliament objects to a proposal, the Commission cannot enact it. Instead, the Commission can either make a new proposal, taking account of the reasons for the objection (in which case the clock is re-set and Parliament can again block), or it can propose new legislation to Parliament and Council under the legislative co-decision procedure. The new procedure applies whenever Council and Parliament, under co-decision on the basic legislation, choose to confer powers on the Commission to adopt implementing measures of general scope that can be described as "quasi-legislative" in nature (delegated legislation). It does not apply to administrative or purely executive decisions. The system does not apply when the original legislation is not co-decision legislation. Then, the old comitology procedures (see below) can still apply.


First comitology decision

The comitology system was initially not foreseen under the EEC Treaty. The
Single European Act The Single European Act (SEA) was the first major revision of the 1957 Treaty of Rome. The Act set the European Community an objective of establishing a single market by 31 December 1992, and a forerunner of the European Union's Common Fore ...
introduced a legal basis for the first time and instructed the Council to adopt a Decision setting out the different procedures. This was the first Comitology decision of 1987.


Second comitology decision

The Parliament had also pressed for more transparency in the comitology system. Already in 1999, it secured the Council's agreement in a
Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...
decision 28 June 1999 on procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (1999/468/EC; OJ L 184/23 of 17 July 1999) ("the Comitology Decision") that references of the documents transmitted be made available to the public (Article 7 paragraph 5). The Commission was, therefore, obliged to create a register of Comitology documents and a web-based repository to the register which enables the user to get direct access to certain documents which also contains a link for requesting the document, if it is not made public in the repository (in accordance with the rules of the Regulation No. 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 (OJ L 145/43 of 31 May 2001)). The register in general contains the following types of documents: * agendas of committee meetings, * draft implementing measures, * summary records of committee meetings, * voting results of opinions delivered by a committee.


Comitology regulation

A new regulation on comitology, Regulation No 182/2011, was adopted pursuant to Article 291 (3) TFEU, and has been in force since 1 March 2011. This regulation lays down "the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission's exercise of implementing powers".


Types of committee

Under the second comitology decision of 1999 (amended in 2006) there were four categories of committee: Advisory, Management, Regulatory and, under the procedure agreed in 2006, Regulatory with Scrutiny. Advisory committees give opinions which the Commission must take account of, but it retains the power of decision. Management committees can block a proposed Commission measure by a qualified majority. A Regulatory committee needs a qualified majority to approve a proposed Commission measure. Measures not adopted are referred to the Council for a decision (or Council and Parliament under the new Regulatory committee with Scrutiny, where opposition from either will block the proposed measure). The Comitology regulation has only retained the advisory procedure, and replaced the management and regulatory procedures with the examination procedure. Under the Lisbon Treaty, the scenarios in which the regulatory procedure with scrutiny applied are now covered by the delegated act foreseen in Article 290 TFEU. As of 2021 the regulatory procedure with scrutiny still exists however and is in the process of being phased out.


Democratic legitimacy

As noted above, the European Parliament has long had a problem with the lack of transparency of comitology committees, stemming mainly from the fact that Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are excluded from the comitology process. A broader concern has been voiced about the public accountability of comitology. As sites of European governance which produce a vast amount of binding legislation, comitology's opaque mode of operation, unclear membership, and closed debate style has been the subject of criticism from both academics and practitioners.


See also

* List of European Commission committees by Directorates-General *
Transparency (behavior) As an ethic that spans science, engineering, business, and the humanities, transparency is operating in such a way that it is easy for others to see what actions are performed. Transparency implies openness, communication, and accountability. Tran ...


References


Further reading

* ::''See also'': :::''and'':
Pdf.


External links


EU legislation


Council Decision 87/373/EEC of 13 July 1987 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission
no more in force, replaced by:
Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission
no more in force, replaced by:
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


Official EU sites


Web-based access to the Comitology register
*
Acquis The Community acquis or ''acquis communautaire'' (; ), sometimes called the EU acquis and often shortened to acquis, is the accumulated legislation, legal acts and court decisions that constitute the body of European Union law that came into b ...
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Comitology


Other sites


More background

Updated on a newer decision


* EEA
EFTA The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The organization operates in parallel with the European U ...
br>on ComitologyA short, to-the-point summary table on comitology procedures on Online EU Tests
{{Authority control European Union constitutional law European Union legislative procedure European Commission