The 2006 Reform of Comitology: Problem Solved or Dispute Postponed?

The issue of parliamentary scrutiny of comitology – the system of implementation committees that control the Commission in the execution of delegated powers – has been contested for some time by the political forces involved. The European Parliament in particular has become increasingly dissatisfied with the exclusive arrangement for Member State representatives controlling the Commission. Because of the changes to the legislative process brought about by co-decision, the EP has demanded greater involvement in the process. The Comitology Decisions of 1987 and 1999, and the inter-institutional agreements that have been concluded around them, addressed these concerns in various ways, but they appear not to have settled the matter conclusively. Hence, the continued pressure for reform that led to a Council Decision in the summer of 2006 amending the 1999 Decision. This article seeks to illuminate the background to the way in which
this Decision has come about, provides the details of its main provisions and assesses the extent to which this most recent reform of the system can be seen as a solution to the problem that has dogged comitology for the past decade.