The Committee of the Regions

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The Committee of the Regions
A political assembly of the European Union,
representing local and regional government.
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Key dates

• 1992 Maastricht Treaty creates the CoR
• 1994 First plenary session held in Brussels
• 1995 The number of CoR members increases from
  189 to 222 as the EU-12 expands to
  EU-15
• 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam strengthens the CoR
  by increasing its field of mandatory
  consultation and allows referrals from the
  European Parliament
• 2003 Treaty of Nice states CoR members must
  hold an electoral mandate or be
  politically accountable
• 2004 The number of CoR members increases from
  222 to 317 in the EU-25
• 2004 Treaty establishing a Constitution for
  Europe boosts the institutional status and
  political role of the CoR
• 2007 The number of of CoR members increases
  from 317 to 344 members in the EU-27
• 2007 Lisbon Treaty enhances the status and
  political role of the CoR

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CoR members
344 members plus 344 alternates Germany, France,
Italy, United Kingdom... Poland,
Spain........ Romania...
...... Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary,
Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden.. Denmark,
Ireland, Finland, Slovakia, Lithuania... Esto
nia, Latvia, Slovenia... Cyprus,
Luxembourg.. Malta
.......
24 21 15 12 9 7 6 5
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The Commissions

• COTER - Commission for Territorial Cohesion
  Policy
• ECOS - Commission for Economic and Social Policy
• DEVE - Commission for Sustainable Development
• EDUC - Commission for Culture, Education and
  Research
• CONST - Commission for Constitutional Affairs,
  European Governance and the Area of Freedom,
  Security and Justice
• RELEX - Commission for External Relations and
  Decentralised Cooperation
• CFAA Commission for Financial and
  Administrative Affairs

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The CoR and EU decision-making
CONSULTATION
PROPOSAL
CODECISION
DECISION
European Commission
European Parliament
Council of the EU
CONSULTATION
European Economic Social Committee
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Networks and Activities of the CoR

• 4. OPEN DAYS European week of cities and
  regions
• Co-organised annually in the second week of
  October by CoR and Commission Directorate General
  for Regional Policy.
• Over 200 regions and cities represented, in
  addition to representatives from banking,
  business and civil society, some 5000 individual
  participants.
• Around 130 seminars and networking events in
  Brussels, a further 230 in the regions and
  cities.
• Investors' Café special exhibition and
  networking opportunity for representatives from
  private sector and regions/cities.

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The Committee of the Regions and ICT

• For the CoR, ICTs are
• A key factor for improving
  coordination and cooperation in various fields
  between local, regional, national and European
  authorities
• Provide a major opportunity to improve
  public services
• Influence the way in which local and
  regional authorities work and supply
  services

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The Committee of the Regions
Local and regional authorities have a crucial
role to play in exploiting the potential of ICT
for the following reasons
Broadband access eGovernment Web 2.0 Energy
efficiency
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ICT and energy efficiency in the CoR's work

• Local and regional authorities can and do take
  leadership in using ICT for increasing energy
  efficiency
• Our Members and their cities are committed to the
  Covenant of Mayors and undertake to cut emissions
  by more than 20 by 2020
• The Covenant of Mayors is an ambitious initiative
  that brings together the mayors of Europe's most
  pioneering cities in a permanent network to
  exchange and apply good practices across these
  cities and beyond to improve energy efficiency
  significantly in the urban environment.

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ICT and energy efficiency in the CoR's work

• Regions play a leadership role in identifying
  local ICT opportunities for action
• sharing technological best practice
• identifying project partners
• allocating funding to invest in ICT tools,
  measuring progress
• and communicating success
• Cities should be free to set themselves ambitious
  targets, which are sustainable, exceeding those
  in national frameworks.
• However, short term budgetary pressures challenge
  regions and cities who take medium to long term
  investment and policy decisions to improve their
  own energy efficiency.

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A Guide for Local and Regional Authorities on ICT
for Energy Efficiency
The Committee of the Regions

• a practical guide for local and regional
  authorities on ICT for energy efficiency
• in response to a recommendation in the opinion
  "Addressing the Challenge of energy efficiency
  through Information and Communication
  Technologies rapporteur Risto Koivisto (FI/PES)
• will make a number of specific recommendations to
  help local and regional authorities across Europe
  become more energy efficient
• A call for tender is foreseen to be published in
  April 2009, and the final results would be
  delivered at the Open Days event of 2010.
• A questionnaire was drawn up for CoR members and
  experts to find out what exactly they would like
  to see in this guide.

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Contact
www.cor.europa.eu Anna Kadar EDUC
Commission Committee of the Regions
anna.kadar_at_cor.europa.eu