European Centre for Research on Federalism

This article analyses the work carried out during the first two years of existence of the Committee of the Regions (COR) from its constitutional Plenary Session on 9 March 1994, to the extraordinary meeting of the Election of the new President, Pasqual Maragall, on 20 March 1996 (a number of important events up to September 1996 however are included in this article). The first chapter is concerned with the regional dimension of the process of European integration. The second chapter describes briefly the background of the creation of this new institution. The third chapter outlines the different bodies of the Committee of the Regions. Also examined is the work of the commissions and the Secretariat General. The fourth chapter sketches briefly the avenues open to COR for influencing policy, in particular the formulations of opinions and resolutions. The fifth chapter presents certain problems which have arisen, such as the heterogenity of the members of the COR, the internal structures of the political decision-making process, the rules of procedure and the consequences of the enlargement of the EU. In the sixth chapter, three main points are given which are important for the future role of the Committee of the Regions: the quality of the opinions produced which is linked to chosen political priorities, an increase in the exchange of information with regional and local authorities but also with other European institutions and the participation of the COR in the debate of institutional reform at the 1996 Intergovernmental Conference. The last and seventh chapter concludes by documenting the main developments in the plenary sessions which have taken place up to March 1996.