Committee of the Regions 2024 Budget Review

What is a "Discharge"?

The European Parliament reviews how EU funds were spent in a given year. A "discharge" is the Parliament's formal approval that the money was spent correctly, legally, and efficiently. This summary covers the Parliament's 2024 discharge decision for the Committee of the Regions (CoR).

The Committee of the Regions (CoR)

• Role: The CoR represents local and regional authorities across the EU. It advises the EU on policies that affect cities, villages, and regions.
• Membership: It consists of 329 elected members from all 27 EU countries.
• Budget: In 2024, the CoR's budget was €123 million.

Spending Review for 2024

Overall, the CoR spent almost all of its allocated money, with an execution rate of 99.9%.

• Spending Status: The spending was generally high, showing good financial management.
• Errors Found: The Court of Auditors examined 70 transactions and found 16 with errors (23%). However, the overall error level was considered low.

Key Observations from the Parliament

The Parliament made several observations about the CoR's performance:

Strengths:

• Financial Management: High execution rates indicate good financial control.
• Digital Strategy: The CoR has a solid plan to become paper-less and cyber-secure.
• Staffing: Staff numbers are stable, and 89% are satisfied with hybrid work arrangements.
• Cooperation: Strong collaboration with other EU bodies helps save money.

Areas for Improvement:

• Funding: The CoR is considered under-funded for its role in testing new EU policies.
• Remote Work: The allowance for remote participation is noted as being high and not fully justified.
• Gender Balance: While women make up 57% of staff, they are underrepresented in senior roles.
• Anti-Fraud: The CoR currently lacks a formal anti-fraud strategy.
• Communication: The Parliament noted that the CoR needs to improve the use of its limited funds for events and online presence.

What the Parliament Expects Next

The Parliament requires the CoR to take several actions to improve its operations:

• Resources: Secure more funding, especially for innovation and testing policies.
• Rules: Improve rules for remote meetings, ensuring allowances match actual costs.
• Equality: Adopt a clear, time-bound plan with measurable goals to improve gender equality.
• Security: Continue upgrading digital and cyber-security systems, including using AI and data protection measures.
• Accountability: Enhance transparency by publishing clear information on conflicts of interest and financial management.
• Oversight: Keep the Parliament updated on progress regarding audits, anti-fraud plans, and internal controls.

Conclusion

The European Parliament grants discharge to the Committee of the Regions for 2024. This means the Parliament approved that the money was spent correctly and efficiently. This approval is accompanied by clear expectations for the CoR to improve resource allocation, tighten spending rules, strengthen anti-fraud measures, and enhance staff welfare and transparency.

Broader context

The discharge procedure is an annual democratic check that happens across all EU institutions. Every year, the European Parliament reviews the accounts of the EU's bodies — from the Commission down to smaller advisory bodies like the Committee of the Regions (CoR) — and either approves or rejects how they spent public money. This process is rooted in the EU's founding treaties and is one of the Parliament's most important tools for holding EU institutions accountable.

The Committee of the Regions was created in 1994. Its core purpose is to make sure that EU laws and policies take into account the perspective of local governments — cities, regions, and municipalities — before they are finalised. When the EU plans rules about transport, housing, climate, or education, the CoR gets to formally comment. It doesn't have the power to block laws, but its opinions carry weight.

The Court of Auditors mentioned in the summary is the EU's independent financial watchdog. It checks whether EU money is being spent legally and wisely, and its findings feed directly into Parliament's discharge decisions.

Impact on people living in the EU

Most people never interact with the CoR directly, but its work shapes everyday life in concrete ways.

The Parliament's push for more resources for the CoR matters because a better-funded CoR can more effectively ensure that EU rules work in practice at the local level — not just on paper in Brussels.

The focus on digital security and AI means the CoR is modernising how it handles citizens' data and public consultations, which directly affects privacy protections for people engaging with regional EU programmes.

The call for gender balance in senior roles reflects a broader EU commitment to equal representation in public institutions — something that sets a standard other public bodies across member states are expected to follow.