The Committee of the Regions: A Functional Analysis of the CoR’s Institutional Capacity

This article is a functional analysis of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) of the European Union (EU). Whereas what little has been written of the CoR tends to downplay its significance, relegating it to a ‘merely’ advisory role, this article contends that it has assumed and performs meaningful advisory and representational functions. The article also places the CoR fully in the context of the EU's commitment to the principle of subsidiarity and within the debate over the EU's ‘democratic deficit’. Basing the analysis on CoR and Commission documents, its performance of advisory, representational and symbolic roles are evaluated adapting Christiansen's functional categories. While the CoR is not a co-equal of the Commission or Council it has established for itself a presence in the constellation of EU bodies.