What changed

1. Grants the Secretary-General of the Committee of the Regions discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Committee of the Regions for the financial year 2024 / Postpones its decision on granting the Secretary-General of the Committee of the Regions discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget of the Committee of the Regions for the financial year 2024;

4. Notes that cohesion policy contributes significantly to citizens’ trust in the Union by delivering concrete and visible results through regional and local projects, thereby reinforcing the legitimacy of Union action on the ground; underlines that in this context the Committee plays a key role in bringing Union citizens closer to Union decision-making;

5. Notes that the implementation rate of C1 appropriations of budgetary item 1000 ‘Office expenses of Members’ decreased from 76,20 % in 2023 to only 13,90 % in 2024; notes the Committee’s explanation whereby allowances for office expenses for 2024 were executed at the beginning of 2025 with C8 appropriations; notes that the Committee has addressed the low implementation rate in 2023 of C8 appropriations of budgetary item 2007 (‘Fitting-out of premises’) by avoiding initiation of large building projects at the end of year and by making intermediate payments for long-term project to prevent late invoices; notes however a decrease in the execution rate of that item’s C1 appropriations from 99,20 % in 2023 to 51,90 % in 2024 due to the timing of renovation of some of the Committee’s elevators;

6. Underlines that the Committee’s high budgetary execution rates and low error levels demonstrate that decentralised implementation, close to regional and local authorities, can ensure both sound financial management and tangible results for citizens, while recognising the need for additional resources; calls on the Commission to fully involve the Committee, within its institutional mandate, in the monitoring and evaluation of Union spending, including in decisions that concern the post-2027 Union budget, in order to strengthen further the accountability, transparency and performance of cohesion projects that aim to reduce economic, social and territorial disparities;

7. Notes that the implementation rate of C1 appropriations of budgetary item 1 0 0 0 ‘Office expenses of Members’ decreased from 76,20 % in 2023 to only 13,90 % in 2024; notes the Committee’s explanation whereby allowances for office expenses for 2024 were executed at the beginning of 2025 with C8 appropriations; notes that the Committee has addressed the low implementation rate in 2023 of C8 appropriations of budgetary item 2 0 0 7 ‘Fitting-out of premises’ by avoiding initiation of large building projects at the end of year and by making intermediate payments for long-term project to prevent late invoices; notes however a decrease in the execution rate of that item’s C1 appropriations from 99,20 % in 2023 to 51,90 % in 2024 due to the timing of renovation of some of the Committee’s elevators;

8. Notes an increase of payments made for the members of the Committee, from budgetary item 1004, from EUR 7 955 968 in 2023 to EUR 8 036 613 in 2024, which represents an increase of 1 % (down from +20 % the previous year); notes that 8 231 payments were made for travel expenses, 4 188 payments for travel allowances, 7 303 payments for meeting allowances for in-person participation and 164 payments for remote participation in 2024; notes from the Committee’s follow-up to the observations in the resolution of Parliament concerning the 2023 discharge (‘the Follow-up report’) that the Committee adopted a revised set of rules on travel reimbursement and payment of allowance to Committee members in 2024 with several measures aimed at reducing unnecessary costs and carbon emissions, as recommend by Parliament in previous discharge resolutions;

10. Calls on the Committee’s administration to actively identify and implement cost-saving measures, including through the increased use of hybrid meeting technologies, the optimization of building usage, the consolidation of administrative activities and the reduction of unnecessary logistical expenses; requests regular progress reports on the measures implemented and savings achieved;

11. Notes an increase in payments made for the members of the Committee, from budgetary item 1 0 0 4, from EUR 7 955 968 in 2023 to EUR 8 036 613 in 2024, which represents an increase of 1 % (down from +20 % the previous year); notes that 8 231 payments were made for travel expenses, 4 188 payments for travel allowances, 7 303 payments for meeting allowances for in-person participation and 164 payments for remote participation in 2024; notes from the Committee’s follow-up to the observations in the resolution of Parliament concerning the 2023 discharge (‘the Follow-up report’) that the Committee adopted a revised set of rules on travel reimbursement and payment of allowance to Committee members in 2024 with several measures aimed at reducing unnecessary costs and carbon emissions, as recommend by Parliament in previous discharge resolutions;

11.14. Notes that the Committee’s current rules set the flat-rate remote meeting allowance at 50 % of the regular meeting allowance, with the latter being EUR 367 and the former EUR 186,50 after indexation; notes that the total amount paid for remote meeting allowances remained low compared to previous years, after a significant return to in-person meetings was registered in 2023; notes nevertheless a slight increase ofin the amount paid from EUR 32 632 in 2023 to EUR 38 104 in 2024; notes from the QuestionnaireCommittee’s replies to the questionnaire submitted by the Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control for the 2024 budgetary discharge (the ‘Questionnaire’) that only meetings of non-statutory Committee bodies can be conducted online or in hybrid format, whereas remote participation is monitored through the Interactio platform and the extraction of .csv files therefrom; calls on the Committee to strengthen the transparency and proportionality of the system of remote participation allowance in order to reinforce public trust and stresses that financial compensation for remote attendance must be strictly justified; considers that, although remote attendance is an important instrument for modern institutions, since it reduces meeting costs and enables broader participation, the allocation of ana reduced allowance for Committee bodies participating remotely in meetings, even if reduced and limited to certain types of events, iscan difficultbe a proportionate and fair measure for members’ responsibility and preparation requirements; notes, however, the publicimportance toof understand;ensuring notestransparency thatand thisproportionality isregarding especiallythe truelevel givenof such allowances, mainly where differences exist between Union bodies for remote attendance; considers that the current level of the remote meeting allowance paidrequires tofurther membersjustification in terms of thecost Committeeeffectiveness, isproportionality 20and %public higheracceptability; thancalls thatfor paida wider and more systematic use of online and hybrid meeting formats, where appropriate, in order to membersreduce travel-related expenditure, enhance cost efficiency, limit environmental impact and improve public trust in the prudent use of Union funds and to assess the EESCpossibility of harmonising the Committee’s rules with those applied by the EESC, or to provide a clear and transparent rationale for remotemaintaining attendance;a differentiated system;

13.16. Acknowledges that the Committee plays a fundamental role in contributing to the Union’s policy development and decision-making processes by representing the interests of local and regional authorities within the Union, thus bringing Europe closer to its citizens and increasing the democratic legitimacy of Union legislation; notes from the Annual report that for 2024, as part of its annual operational plan, the reporting of the performance of the Committee was based on 26 objectives, the achievement of which was assessed through 87 quantitative indicators; calls on the Committee to further strengthen the outcome -and impact-oriented indicators to better demonstrate the impact and the added value of the Committee’s activities on Union policies; whereas the targets of the majority of those indicators (approximately 74 %) was achieved with a level of 90 % or more, six were partially achieved with a level of less than 90 % and six were not achieved; notes from the Questionnaire that it implemented a comprehensive planning and reporting cycle, which included the creation of a central risk register and a risk assessment exercise for all objectives in the annual operational plan in 2024; encourages the Committee to continue to work on performance improvement as well as effectiveness improvement; welcomes the Committee's efforts to introduce reformative and innovative solutions, streamline the administration and avoid overlapping roles with other bodies;

14. Notes that the Committee pursues its mission through opinions, which refer to legislative proposals made by the Commission (referrals), own-initiative opinions, which call on the Union institutions to take action, and through resolutions, which highlight the Committee’s positions on specific topics; notes that, in 2024, the Committee adopted 53 opinions (the same as in 2023) and four resolutions (six in 2023);

17. Underlines the relevance and strategic value of performance indicators and invites the Committee to further consolidate its indicator framework, ensuring the reporting of outcomes and impact rather than administrative activity alone;

15. Notes with satisfaction from the Committee’s 2024 annual impact report (the ‘Impact report’) the Committee’s political achievements in 2024 with respect to its three political priorities for 2020-2025, thereby reinforcing the Committee’s role in shaping Union policy at regional and local level; notes that the Committee’s input from declarations and recommendations from opinions have had an impact on key Union policy areas such as climate change, nature, energy and green economy (via, e.g., the report ‘Green deal 2.0’ which influenced Council conclusions and the Committee’s opinion on Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 of the European Parliament and of the Council ), transport (via, e.g., the Committee’s opinion on the Greening Freight Transport package which influenced relevant draft reports of Parliament), and health (via, e.g., the Committee’s opinion on Regulation (EU) 2025/327 of the European Parliament and of the Council which influenced the final compromise text); notes in addition that proposals made by the Committee influenced the Commission’s decisions to launch a pilot project of EUR 23 million for cofinancing regions and cities for the reintegration of the long term unemployed into the labour market and to launch the European Affordable Housing Plan addressing energy, poverty and sustainable housing; further notes that the declaration adopted at the European Summit of Regions and Cities held in March 2024 in Mons provided input to the European Council’s Strategic Agenda and the Commission’s Political Guidelines;

18 Notes that the Committee pursues its mission through opinions, which refer to legislative proposals made by the Commission (referrals), own-initiative opinions, which call on the Union institutions to take action, and through resolutions, which highlight the Committee’s positions on specific topics; notes that, in 2024, the Committee adopted 53 opinions (the same as in 2023) and four resolutions (six in 2023); recognises the Committee’s political achievements in 2024 and its role in integrating local and regional perspectives into Union policymaking, thereby enhancing citizen involvement;

16. Considering the important role of the Committee in increasing the democratic legitimacy of Union legislation by providing an active coordination of regional and local authorities, supports the Committee in its effort to provide more territorial impact assessments; notes with satisfaction that the Committee has created a fully-fledged mechanism for stakeholder consultation to collect views before issuing its opinions, thanks to the involvement of various local and regional networks, alliances and hubs; appreciates that the voices of non-Union partners are also taken into consideration through, e.g., the European Alliance of Cities and Regions for the Reconstruction of Ukraine and the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly;

19. Notes with satisfaction from the Committee’s 2024 annual impact report (the ‘Impact report’) the Committee’s political achievements in 2024 with respect to its three political priorities for 2020-2025, thereby reinforcing the Committee’s role in shaping Union policy at regional and local level; notes that the Committee’s input from declarations and recommendations from opinions have had an impact on key Union policy areas such as climate change, nature, energy and green economy (via, e.g., the report ‘Green deal 2.0’ which influenced Council conclusions and the Committee’s opinion on Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 of the European Parliament and of the Council), transport (via, e.g., the Committee’s opinion on the Greening Freight Transport package which influenced relevant draft reports of Parliament), and health (via, e.g., the Committee’s opinion on Regulation (EU) 2025/327 of the European Parliament and of the Council which influenced the final compromise text); notes with satisfaction that proposals made by the Committee influenced the Commission’s decisions to launch a pilot project of EUR 23 million for cofinancing regions and cities for the reintegration of the long term unemployed into the labour market and to launch the ambitious, first-ever European Affordable Housing Plan addressing energy, poverty and sustainable housing and reaffirming that access to housing is a fundamental right; further notes that the declaration adopted at the European Summit of Regions and Cities held in March 2024 in Mons provided input to the European Council’s Strategic Agenda and the Commission’s Political Guidelines;

20. Considering the important role of the Committee in increasing the democratic legitimacy of Union legislation by providing active coordination of regional and local authorities, supports the Committee in its effort to provide targeted, proportionate and evidence-based territorial impact assessments where they add clear value to legislative process; notes with satisfaction that the Committee has created a fully-fledged mechanism for stakeholder consultation to collect views before issuing its opinions, thanks to the involvement of various local and regional networks, alliances and hubs; appreciates that the voices of non-Union partners are also taken into consideration through, e.g., the European Alliance of Cities and Regions for the Reconstruction of Ukraine and the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly;

21. Notes the Committee’s broader engagement across the Union’s political and legislative cycle, enabled by its cooperation frameworks with the Commission, Parliament and the European Investment Bank; underlines the importance of inviting members of the Committee and of the EESC to parliamentary meetings falling within their areas of competence;

24. Stresses that modernisation efforts must be accompanied by a systematic assessment of the tangible benefits achieved, including measurable gains in efficiency, cost savings and processing times; calls therefore on the Committee to establish a methodology to quantify these improvements and to report on them regularly;

22.28. Notes that, at the end of 2024, the Committee had a total of 561 members of staff (seconded national experts, interim, intra muros and trainees not included), compared to 559 in 2023; notes that 73 contract agents, compared to 74 contract agents in 2023 and 102 temporary agents, compared to 96 temporary agents in 2023, were employed by the Committee at the end of 2024, out of which 22 contract agents had an open-ended contract, 51 contract agents had a time-limited contract, 49 temporary agents were on permanent posts with time-limited contract, 50 temporary agents had an open-ended contract and 3 temporary agents held a temporary position; notes, in addition, that the Committee employed 39 external service providers working intra muros; recallsstresses the importance of providing permanent contractscontracts, where appropriate, in order to maintain skills, continuity and a productive and stable working environment;environment, while preserving flexibility and merit-based recruitment in line with operational needs; warns against an excessive reliance on external service providers; notes that in 2024 the occupation rate of the posts in the establishment plan was 96,40 % (a decrease from 98 % in 2023) and the turnover rate was 7,30 % (an increase from 6,60 % in 2023), respectively;

24.30. Notes with regret that the Committee has not yet achieved gender parity in leadership positions, but acknowledges the significant progress made under the Committee’s five-year diversity and inclusion strategy and action plan for 2022-2026; welcomes the election in 2025 of a female President of the Committee, reaffirming the institution’s commitment to advancing gender equality at the highest political level and encourages the Committee to continue its efforts to increase female representations in leadership positions, while emphasising that merit and professional qualifications remain the primary criteria for appointment; notes that, at the end of 2024, the Committee employed 57,1 % women and 42,78 % men, almost the same proportions as in 2023; notes with concern that the proportion of women in senior management positions decreased from 44,4 % in 2023 to 33,3 % in 2024 (it increased back to 44,4 % in 2025) and the proportion of women in middle management decreased from 32,50 % in 2023 to 29,7 % in 2024; notes from the Questionnaire the measures to encourage greater female participation in management roles, including through targeted training and coaching opportunities for female staff aspiring to managerial positions, and the promotion of more flexible working arrangements; reiterates that achieving long-term gender balance in management positions is a core institutional objective and expects the Committee to adopt a concrete, time-bound action plan with measurable targets, intermediate milestones and annual reporting; calls on the Committee to ensure that progress towards parity is both monitored and publicly communicated;

39. Welcomes the strong and structured social dialogue in organisational change processes throughout 2024; encourages the Committee to maintain and further strengthen the systematic involvement of staff representatives in reforms related, inter alia, to digitalisation, internal reorganisation and new working methods;

39.46. Notes that no cases of whistleblowing were reported to the Committee in 2024; notes that the Committee did not adopt any new measures concerning whistleblowing in 2024 and continued to rely on the measures in place since 2015 and to promote them through ethics training;training and awareness raising; supports regular mandatory ethic trainings both for staff as well as for management level;

40.47. Notes that the Committee has a range of anti-fraud measures and actions applicable to its members and its staff which have been implemented by different services; regrets that in 2024 no anti-fraud strategy was in place; notes nevertheless from the Questionnaire that the Committee adopted in 2025 a consolidated anti-fraud framework which represents an intermediate step in developing a comprehensive anti-fraud strategy, whereas the methodology used for this objective will be provided by OLAF; urges the Committee to prioritize the full development and implementation of this strategy, including risk assessment, prevention, detection and follow-up measures; asks the Committee to keep the discharge authority informed on this matter;

43.50. Notes that the Committee gradually introduced an artificial intelligence pilot project called ‘Panoramic AI’ that creates a central hub which streamlines access to complex content as of 2024; notes further that the Committee has been actively using the Commission’s AI tools for translation, summaries etc. and has participated as a pilot user to test the GPT@JRC AI pilot solution; notes from the Questionnaire that the Committee’s AI guidelines adopted in 2023 established a baseline for how staff could experiment with AI, for implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 of the European Parliament and of the Council which came into effect in August 2024 and for developing corporate alternatives that align with data protection and ethical standards; welcomes in this context the organisation of information sessions for staff to explain the AI guidelines, the publication of a note on AI literacy for staff and the organisation of workshops to raise awareness about AI in 2024;2024 and encourages the continuation of this practice, including the organisation of regular trainings on safe, ethical and efficient use of artificial intelligence and regular trainings on cybersecurity; acknowledges the added-value of AI tools that boost personal productivityproductivity, such as the M365 CopilotCopilot, and of integrating AI capabilities into IT support tools; stresses that the use of artificial intelligence must be carried out by guaranteeing strict principles of ethical use, transparency, data protection, human oversight, and protection against algorithmic bias or misuse;

45.52. Notes from the Questionnaire that the Committee did not experience any successful cyberattacks in 2024, as existing detection and prevention measures effectively contained all attempted threats; notes that the Committee took several actions to strengthen its cybersecurity and data protection framework by keeping up to date with the latest developments and best practices in these areas in 2024; notes that some of those actions included the participation of relevant staff in the ‘Personal Data Breach Awareness in Cybersecurity Incident Handling’ exercise organised by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) and EDPS, participation in the 2024 European Cybersecurity Month and the awareness sessions and in person induction training sessions for staff, especially for newcomers; encourages continuation of this practice, including organisation of regular trainings on cybersecurity; welcomes moreover the introduction of two-factor authentication to enhance access security, the migration of the Committee’s website content management system to a new platform (Drupal) that ensures improved resilience and adaptability, and the continued close cooperation with CERT-EU for real-time threat monitoring and protection against distributed DDoS attacks; notes that the Directorate for Innovation and Information Technology initiated a digital and cybersecurity transformation programme in line with Union and international standards, including Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2023/2841 of the European Parliament and of the Council, the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, and Open Worldwide Application Security Project (OWASP), aiming to reinforce resilience, risk management, data protection and other facets of governance across the Committee;

54.61. Welcomes the budgetary and administrative savings achieved through interinstitutional cooperation, and in particular the close cooperation established at administrative level with the EESC, with which the Committee shares premises and joint services in the areas of translation, infrastructure, medical services, catering, logistics and IT, as well as a joint data protection register, with 470 members of staff and more than EUR 68 million (EUR 140 million if salary-related costs are included) pooled together by both institutions in 2024; welcomes the fact that these savings were reoriented towards the Committee’s political activities, thereby strengthening its capacity to fulfil its mandate; acknowledges that efficiency gains and budgetary savings from the collaboration of the two institutions are significant, to the tune of an estimated tens of millions of euros annually compared to if each committee operated those services independently; reiterates its call to expand as much as possible this cooperation, to the extent of setting up a single administration for the joint services, and keeping separate the services and unit in charge of their core independent mandates; encourages the Committee and the EESC to continue their efforts to develop further cooperation and synergies;

60.67. Acknowledges from the Impact report and the Annual report the Committee’s contribution to Parliament’s communication campaign for the 2024 European elections, by engaging a network of 750 YEPs, promoting Parliament materials, producing go-to-vote videos with Committee members, dedicating a web page on the Committee’s website and producing other visual content promoted on social media which reached almost 5 million accounts; welcomes these efforts to engage a broad and diverse audience across the Union and to raise awareness of the 2024 European elections; underlines that such interinstitutional cooperation on Union policies, in particular on the work of Parliament, is essential for reaching citizens in all regions of the Union, strengthening democratic participation and enhancing the democratic legitimacy of the Union;

70. Highlights that all in all the Committee’s communication strategy aims to reinforce its institutional visibility and political standing as the representative body of the Union’s regions, cities, towns and municipalities, and to showcase the role of its members in connecting Union policies with citizens at local and regional level.