The Committee of the Regions as representative assembly: Mission impossible or miracle in the making?

In its opinions specifically dedicated to the economic and financial crisis, the Committee of the Regions manages to strike a balance among the many interests in it represented that could fragment its voice. It rather manages to ‘upgrade’ its institutional, political, economic and territorial interests by claiming for greater equity and solidarity all while standing guard of democratic principles such as participation, transparency, accountability and subsidiarity. In performing this representative function, it does not merely report the desiderata of its constituencies nor does it simply reflect its internal disparities. Rather, it manages to give voice to a ‘subnational tier’, ‘the periphery’ or ‘the man in the street’ that would not be heard without its representational activity. It is not too bold to conclude that it succeeds in doing this precisely because it is not directly involved in shaping the will of the Union, but merely in articulating its voice, Being barred from directly contributing to securing isonomia, it may better concentrate on guaranteeing isegoria.