Comitology in the European Union refers to a process by which EU law is implemented, modified or adjusted and takes place within "comitology committees" chaired by the European Commission. The official term for the process is committee procedure. Comitology committees are part of the EU's broader system of committees that assist in the making, adoption, and implementation of EU laws.
The Lisbon Treaty reconfigured comitology system, codifying it in Articles 290 and 291 TFEU. Article 290 TFEU introduced the delegated act which is now used to amend or supplement EU legislation, whereas beforehand this was also done through comitology. Article 291 TFEU continues to provide for implementing acts through comitology. Under the EU institutions' 2016 Common Understanding on Delegated Acts, comitology has been re-introduced for the adoption of delegated acts under Article 290 TFEU.
Background and history
All legislatures have a system of delegating detailed implementing measures to the executive. At EU level too, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union can confer such powers on the Commission. However, the Commission must act in conjunction with committees of representatives of member states who often have the power to block the Commission and refer the matter to the Council.
It is the confusing number of committees that gave rise to the term "comitology". A report from the British House of Lords said, "There is no definitive list of comitology committees, their functions, activities and membership"; however, since the European Commission started to maintain a list, it states that "A list of 'comitology' committees [...] is published as an Annex to the Annual reports on the work of these Committees [...] as well as in the Register of Comitology." Moreover, the strongest criticism pertained to the fact that the elected European Parliament (EP) had no right to block implementing measures: only the comitology committees could do so, and if they did, the proposal was referred to Council alone, even when the initial delegation of powers was through an act adopted jointly by both Parliament and Council under the co-decision procedure. Parliament argued that the system lacked transparency and democratic control.
After years of complaint by Parliament, a significant reform placing Parliament and Council on an equal footing was to be introduced by the Constitutional Treaty. Since the latter did not get ratified, the Parliament insisted that the envisaged changes would be introduced through secondary law. An agreement was reached in 2006 and a new procedure, the regulatory procedure with scrutiny, was introduced, to be used when non-essential elements of EU legislation adopted under the co-decision procedure required amendment or supplementation.
The procedure gives Parliament and Council a period (normally of three months) to examine proposals that have been through a comitology committee. If Parliament objects to a proposal, the Commission cannot enact it. Instead, the Commission can either make a new proposal, taking account of the reasons for the objection (in which case the clock is re-set and Parliament can again block), or it can propose new legislation to Parliament and Council under the legislative co-decision procedure.
The new procedure applies whenever Council and Parliament, under co-decision on the basic legislation, choose to confer powers on the Commission to adopt implementing measures of general scope that can be described as "quasi-legislative" in nature (delegated legislation). It does not apply to administrative or purely executive decisions. The system does not apply when the original legislation is not co-decision legislation. Then, the old comitology procedures (see below) can still apply.
First comitology decision
The comitology system was initially not foreseen under the EEC Treaty. The Single European Act introduced a legal basis for the first time and instructed the Council to adopt a Decision setting out the different procedures. This was the first Comitology decision of 1987.
Second comitology decision
The Parliament had also pressed for more transparency in the comitology system. In 1999, it secured the Council's agreement in a Council of the European Union decision of 28 June 1999 on procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (1999/468/EC; OJ L 184/23 of 17 July 1999) ("the Comitology Decision") which outlines "advisory", "management", regulatory" and "safeguard" procedures (Articles 3 to 6 respectively).