Comitology Across Policy Areas

Abstract

The comitology system was first used in the agricultural area in the 1960s, but soon spread to other areas (see Chapter 4). Over the years the system kept growing and was gradually introduced in all areas that have come under EU regulatory authority. Today comitology committees are found in all EU policy areas, for example the committee on fuel quality, which supervises the Commission’s regulation of petrol and diesel fuels used in road vehicles;1 the coordination committee of the funds, which monitors the Commission’s distribution of means from the EU structural funds;2 the tobacco products committee, which watches the Commission’s regulation of the production and marketing of tobacco;3 and the committee on administrative cooperation, which keeps track of the Commission’s activities to combat value added tax evasion in the member states.4 According to the Commission’s latest count, there are 266 comitology committees (2010a, p. 4).