THE REGION IN EUROPE
Participation in the European Commission
The European Commission represents the interests of the EU as a whole. It proposes new legislation to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, and ensures that EU laws are uniformly and correctly applied by all member states.
Comitology
In this respect, the power to adopt non-legislative acts may be delegated to the Commission by the Council and the Parliament. These acts include the so-called "acts of execution": measures to ensure that EU acts are applied in a uniform manner throughout the Union.
The term ‘comitology’, therefore, sums up the system through which the Commission exercises the implementing powers conferred by the legislature of the European Union, with the assistance of committees.
Committees are debate forums made up of representatives of member states and presided over by Commission officials who allow the latter to establish a dialogue with national administrations before implementing measures. In this way, the Commission ensures that these measures are best suited to the reality of each country. Most committees meet several times a year, usually in Brussels.
In regards to Spain, the autonomous communities have been involved since 1999 and have been gradually increasing their involvement through agreements adopted within the framework of the Conference for EU-Related Affairs (CARUE) for quadrenial periods. These agreements established which committees were open to the participation of autonomous communities. So far, it has reached more than 100 committees of the European Commission.
At present, Murcia Region coordinates the particpation in the following Committees: Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health. Legislation on Plant Production Products,; Consumer Financial Programme Committee (CFPC); Committee on credit agreements for consumers; Committee on managing the safety of infrastructures; Erasmus+Committee; Civil Protection Committee and the Committee of Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade”.
Monitoring the application of EU regulation
Another fundamental task of the European Commission is to ensure and supervise the correct application of European Law by the member states responsible for its correct application, and within the deadlines set in the treaties and EU legislation.
In its role as guarantor and supervisor, the Commission can intervene whenever a member state does not apply the EU directives in its national laws, does not inform the Commission about the measures taken to do it, or if it is suspected of having violated EU law.
The Commission may initiate formal infringement proceedings and even—if necessary—to refer it to the European Court of Justice if an early solution is not reached.
In Spain, the implementation and enforcement of EU law is based on the principle of "no alteration of distribution of competences" drawn up by the Constitutional Court. On this basis, the autonomous communities are able to run the EU law in their competent field and with the intensity recognized in their own Autonomy Statutes.
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