Commission proposes reform of comitology procedures 

Most EU regulation in not enacted as legislation by the Council and Parliament but as implementation measures under the executive duties of the Commission. Such regulation can be adopted when the Council has conferred executive powers on the Commission and after an implementation committee, composed of policy experts from the Member States, has given its opinion on or approved the Commission's proposed measures. The committee procedures are commonly referred to as "comitology."

In July 1987, the Council adopted what is known as the 'Comitology Decision,' defining specific committee variants and procedures for the exercise of the implementing powers conferred on the Commission. The 1987 procedures were replaced by a June 1999 Comitology Decision.

The three types of committees - advisory, management and regulatory committees - work according to different procedures and have varying levels of legislative control over the Commission. The type of committee assigned normally depends on the policy area being regulated:

• advisory committees: issue opinions to the Commission which must take "utmost account of them" in its implementing measures. This procedure is generally used when the measures under consideration are not very sensitive politically;
• management committees: where the measures adopted by the Commission are not consistent with the committee's opinion (delivered by qualified majority), the Commission must communicate them to the Council which can take a different decision (by qualified majority). This procedure is used in particular for measures relating to the management of the Common Agricultural Policy, fisheries and the main Community programmes;
• regulatory committees: the Commission can adopt implementing measures only after obtaining the approval of the committee (voting by qualified majority). In the absence of an approval, the proposed measure is referred to the Council which takes a decision by qualified majority. However, if the Council does not take a decision, the Commission can adopt the measure provided that the Council does not object by a qualified majority. This procedure is used for measures relating to protection of the health or safety of persons, animals and plants and for measures amending non-essential provisions of the basic legislative instruments.

In the White Paper on European Governance and again in the December 2002 Communication on Institutional Architecture, the Commission called for reform of the comitology procedures. The Commission argued that the objective of refocusing the institutions as well as increasing efficiency justify reducing, if not eliminating, the use of existing management and regulatory procedures. It also calls for the "rebalancing and strengthening the possibility for Parliament and the Council to control the Commission's exercise of its implementing powers," at least in the areas subject to co-decision.