Historical Explanations Behind Differences: The Parallel Development of the Committee of the Regions and Regional Offices

Abstract: This is a comparative case study of the Committee of the Regions and regional offices. It explores using written records whether history can unveil contrasting features between these two systems using historical institutionalism as the guide. First, it examines the beginning of regional engagement in the European Union with the formation of European Regional Development Fund and the Single European Act. Second, it explores the historical development and implications for the Committee of the Regions and regional offices. It concludes by establishing considerable differences in institutional design and regional representation. The former took a sanctioned constitutional path with equality in regional representation, while the latter an external path with diverse regional representation.