The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is an advisory body representing Europe's local and regional authorities, composed of locally and regionally elected representatives coming from all 27 member states. Through the CoR they are able to share their opinion on EU legislation that directly impacts regions and cities.
The role and composition of the European Committee of the Regions
The CoR is a body set up in 1997 to be consulted for regulations to ensure that European legislation takes into account the views of each EU region.
The European Commission, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament must consult the CoR when drawing up legislation on matters concerning local and regional government such as health, education, employment, social policy, economic and social cohesion, transport, energy and climate change. If not consulted, the CoR can bring a case before the Court of Justice.
Once the CoR receives a legislative proposal, it prepares and adopts an opinion and circulates it to the relevant EU institutions. The CoR also issues opinions on its own initiative.
The CoR members are elected representatives serving in local or regional authorities. Each country nominates members of its choice who are appointed for renewable five-year terms by the Council of the EU. The number of members per country depends on the size of that country's population. Members from one country form the national delegation which reflects the political, geographical, regional and local balance of their country.
Each member can also choose to be part of a political group in the CoR. Currently there are six political groups reflecting a range of political affiliations: the European People's Party (EPP), the Party of European Socialists (PES), Renew Europe, the European Alliance Group (EA), the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) and The Greens. Members can also choose not to be part of a political party if they so wish (non-aligned).
The CoR appoints a president from among its members for a two-and-a-half-year term. Since February 2020, the President of the CoR has been Apostolos Tzitzikostas (Greece, EPP). The first vice-president of the institution is Vasco Alves Cordeiro (Portugal, PES).
The CoR's priorities for the years 2020-2025 are: bringing the EU even closer to people: democracy and the future of the EU; management of social transformations: building resilient local and regional communities; cohesion: place-based EU policies.
How the European Committee of the Regions works
The CoR appoints a rapporteur (one of its members) who consults stakeholders and prepares the opinion. The text is discussed and adopted by the CoR commission in charge of the policy area concerned. The opinion is then presented to all members in plenary session who vote to amend and adopt it. Finally, the opinion is shared and communicated to all relevant EU institutions.
There are up to 6 plenary sessions per year, adopting opinions that cover 50 to 80 EU legislative projects. The last plenary session took place on January 26-27, 2022, during which agriculture, rural development, territorial cohesion, the Green Pact, the future of Europe were discussed.
Romania's representation in the European Committee of the Regions
The Romanian delegation to the European Committee of the Regions is made up of chairs of county councils and mayors of cities, towns and small towns, elected within their communities.
The 15 representatives of Romania in the CoR are officials of the National Union of Romanian County Councils - UNCJR (6 representatives), the Association of Romanian Municipalities - AMR (3 representatives), the Association of Romanian Cities - AOR (3 representatives), the Association of Romanian Municipalities - ACoR (3 representatives). The Romanian delegation also includes 15 other alternate members.
The government of Romania has adopted a memorandum signed by the prime minister establishing the procedure for appointing the members of the Romanian delegation to the CoR, a procedure approved by the four associations of local public authorities.
Each of the four associations (UNCJR, AMR, AOR and ACoR) submits the nomination proposals to the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration (MDRAP), which deals with the notification of Romania's representatives to the CoR. The main criteria to be met in the appointment process relates to geographical balance and the territorial distribution (counties / municipalities / cities / small towns), political and gender balance (women / men), as well as knowledge of a foreign language. The national government issues a decision to the EU Council, which formally appoints the Romanian delegation to the CoR.
Current chairman of the Romanian delegation to the CoR is Adrian Ovidiu Teban, mayor of Cugir, Alba County (EPP representative). Coordinators of the national delegation are Raul Cazan, AOR representative in Brussels and Liliana Mangeac, coordinator of the UNCJR Brussels Office.
The 15 current representatives of Romania in the CoR are:
* Ionel Arsene - President of the Neamt County Council, representative of the Party of European Socialists (PES), member of the COTER (Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget) and SEDEC (Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture);
* Daniel Baluta - Mayor of Buharest City District 4, PES representative, member of the CIVEX (Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External affairs) and NAT (Commission for Natural Resources);
* Emil Boc - Mayor of Cluj-Napoca, representative of the European People's Party (EPP), sitting on SEDEC-VII and COTER-VII;
* Csaba Borboly - President of the Harghita County Council, representative of the EPP sitting on ENVE (Commission for Environment, Climate change and Energy) and SEDEC (Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture);
* Daniela Cimpean - President of the Sibiu County Council, representing the EPP, sitting on ECON (Commission for Economic Policy) and NAT (Commission for Natural Resources);
* Gheorghe Damian - Mayor of Ciugud, Alba County, representative of the European Alliance (EA) and member of the SEDEC-VII and COTER-VII ;
* Emil Draghici - Mayor of Vulcana-Bai, Dambovita County, representative of the European Alliance (EA) and member of the CIVEX-VII and NAT-VII;
* Mariana Gaju - Mayor of Cumpana, Constanta County, representative of PES and member of ECON-VII and ENVE-VII ;
* Petre Emanoil Neagu - President of Buzau County Council, PES representative and member of ECON-VII and NAT-VII;
* Robert Negoita - Mayor of Bucharest District 3, PES representative and member of ECON-VII and ENVE-VII;
* Alin-Adrian Nica - President of the Timis County Council, representative of the EPP and member of CIVEX-VII and COTER-VII;
* Corneliu Ştefan - President of the Dambovita County Council, representative of the PES and member of CIVEX-VII and ENVE-VII;
* Adrian Ovidiu Teban - Mayor of Cugir, Alba County, EPP representative and member of ECON-VII and COTER-VII;
* Gabriela Florica Tulbure - Mayor of Seini, Maramures County, representative of the EPP and member of CIVEX-VII and SEDEC-VII;
* Marius Ioan Ursaciuc - Mayor of Gura Humorului, Suceava County, representative of Renew Europe and member of NAT-VII and ENVE-VI, Agerpres informs.