Opening the Black Box: Decision-Making in the Committee of the Regions

Abstract

As an advisory body the Committee of the Regions' influence on policy-making in the EU depends on its ability to structure internal decision-making according to major lines of conflict. Given its heterogeneous composition, which cleavages do exist and what effects do collective actors and institutional rules have? Based on quantitative analysis of decisions and qualitative interpretation of interviews we find a low level of conflict. Where conflict exists this is overwhelmingly structured by a national cleavage with the partisan cleavage being a distant second factor. The relevance of cleavages varies depending on policy areas and the organizational capabilities of parties and national delegations as collective actors.