The term ‘comitology’ refers to the set of procedures through which the European Commission exercises the implementing powers conferred on it by the European Union (EU) legislator, with the assistance of committees of representatives from EU Member States.

Under Article 291 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the EU legislator may empower the Commission to adopt ‘implementing acts’ through specific rules written into a legislative act (the ‘basic act’). This is done when it is necessary to put in place uniform conditions for the implementation of EU law, instead of letting each Member State implement it on its own in a potentially divergent manner.

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