Charting the course to better EU law-making : optimisation of EU Treaties through inter-institutional cooperation with the European Committee of the Regions

The study analyses existing EU instruments and processes on better regulation, with a specific focus on the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) tools and how they interact with each other at interinstitutional level. It also explores the CoR's options to improve existing tools and setting new ones up, both within the current Treaty framework and with a view to potential Treaty amendments. This implies mapping the existing better regulation instruments and processes of the EU institutions, drawing on the CoR's expertise in multi-level governance and its better regulation tools (subsidiarity & proportionality monitoring, territorial impact assessment, regional hubs network on implementation of EU legislation, engagement in the Fit-4-Future platform, rural proofing and strategic foresight). The study advocates for greater consideration of the territorial dimension in EU law-making through active subsidiarity; it frames a life-cycle approach to better regulation, to the inter-institutional dynamics, to the representation of sub-national interests; it concludes with a set of recommendations for reinforcing the CoR cooperation with institutional partners on specific instruments of better regulation, as well as regarding potential institutional changes to strengthen the COR's capacity to provide better input to policy and law-making.