The European People's Party is the largest political Group in the Committee of the Regions.

It is the CoR's driving force in the EU decision making process. Thanks to its size, the EPP Group authors many opinions and is only the winning side of most decisions. It also regularly tables resolutions for adoption by the Plenary and influences its political decisions.

Aims and objectives

The EPP Group aims to enhance the efficiency and influence of the CoR by representing the interests of citizens in the diverse cities, regions and municipalities across Europe. The EPP Group works towards a Europe that will uphold a prosperous and peaceful future for all its citizens.

Under the motto "think globally - act locally", it works on the principle of subsidiarity. This means that decisions should always be taken at the level closest to citizens unless a better result can be achieved by working at the national or European level.

Why the EPP Group in the CoR is important

Given that approximately two-thirds of EU legislation is implemented by local and regional authorities, the EPP Group allows them to become more involved in framing European policies. Local and regional politicians are also ideally placed to establish and maintain close links with European citizens.

The wider family

The EPP is the family of the political centre-right and is chaired by Wilfried Martens. The party counts on the Groups in the European Parliament and Committee of the Regions to defend and promote its values of democracy, transparency and efficiency by shaping common policies and putting citizens first. 

Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission belongs to the EPP family along with 12 other members of the current Commission. The European Council, led by Herman van Rompuy, and the Council of the European Union also contains many representatives from polical parties belonging to the EPP.