CoR missions :

• to issue advisory opinions: the European Commission, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament should consult CoR when drawing up legislative proposals on areas relating to local and regional authorities, such as health, education, employment, social policy, economic and social cohesion, transport, energy and climate change.

If CoR is not consulted or feels that local and regional interests have not been adequately taken into account, it may refer the matter to the Court of Justice in accordance with the Lisbon Treaty.

In addition, the European Commission, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament can consult CoR on any other proposals in case of specific regional or local interest.

• to issue own initiative opinions and/or resolutions: CoR adopts opinions on its own initiative in order to contribute to the evolution of EU policies, as well as resolutions, on important topics or current issues.
• to develop impact reports: the European Commission may invite CoR to develop impact reports to assess the impact of policies at local or regional level.

The Committee coordinates its work through six specialized commissions in the following areas:

• CIVEX: Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs

• COTER: Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy and EU Budget

• ECON: Commission for Economic Policy

• SEDEC: Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture

• ENVE: Commission for the Environment, Climate change and Energy

• NAT: Commission for Natural Resources

The commissions debate EU policies and develop an annual work programme in line with the CoR's political priorities. When CoR receives documents from the Council, the Commission, or Parliament, the President refers them to the relevant commission, which examines the proposals. A draft opinion is first adopted in the commission and then submitted to the Plenary Assembly.

The CoR Plenary Assembly meets five or six times a year in Brussels. Over two days, the CoR's 329 members review and adopt opinions, reports and resolutions. On those occasions, members of the European Parliament, the Commission, the Council and representatives of the country holding the presidency of the European Union are invited to discuss issues of particular interest to regions and cities.

CoR is led and represented by:

• the President: elected from among CoR members for a two-and-a-half-year term. The President directs the CoR's work, presides over its Plenary sessions and officially represents CoR. Their term of office spans two and a half years.
• the First Vice-President: also elected for two and a half years by the Plenary Assembly to represent the President in their absence. They succeeded the President at the end of their term of office.
• the Bureau: the decision-making and executive body of the CoR. The Bureau currently consists of 60 members who automatically become 1st Vice-President of the CoR.

CoR is assisted by :

• the General Secretariat: its task is to ensure the functioning of the Committee and its bodies and to assist the members of CoR in carrying out their mandate. It is in charge of the smooth running of Plenary sessions, committee meetings and other political activities of CoR members.
• the Secretary-General: is the head of the CoR administration. They are appointed for five years by the Bureau and are in office under the authority of the President. Their mission is to implement decisions made by the Bureau or the President and to oversee administrative services.

CoR consists of 329 members and an equal number of substitutes, divided between member states according to their size and population. Each country proposes members of its choice, who are then appointed by the Council of the EU for a renewable five-year term. Candidates nominated to sit on the CoR must either hold an electoral mandate within a regional or local authority or be politically responsible to an elected assembly.

Members and substitutes from a member state form a national delegation. Each national delegation establishes its internal organization and elects a President. It appoints a national coordinator who liaises between the members of the delegation and the administration of CoR.

Each member can join a CoR political group reflecting their national political affiliation. There are currently six political groups:

• European People's Party (EPP)
• Party of European Socialists (PES) 
• Renew Europe 
• European Alliance Group (EA) 
• European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR)
• The Greens

Members may, however, choose not to be part of a political group and therefore remain non-affiliated.

The political groups generally meet before each Plenary session. They may also hold two extraordinary meetings (away from Brussels) each year.