The political secretariats of the Committee of the Regions. Discreet but discretionary agents in the political work of the institution

The literature on the Committee of the Regions (CoR) pays only secondary attention to the political secretariats within the advisory body. The article is based on interviews which reveal that these actors are discreet in the literature, yet discretionary in the political work of the CoR. Their analysis is likely to make a wider contribution to the literature on the political advice of non-elected actors at EU level. By interrogating these secretariat members’ representations of their political prerogatives, the article sheds light on several of their roles. Firstly, at the level of their political groups, they strive to denationalise the positions of the members. They therefore embody a form of institutional and political memory for the members, in order to make the positions taken by the members consistent with the political history of the group and that of the institution. Secondly, they contribute to forging political opposition lines between the members of their CoR political groups and those of other groups.