Council appoints four Luxembourg local representatives to Committee of the Regions

The Council of the European Union has appointed two members and two alternate members of the Committee of the Regions proposed by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, filling seats left vacant for the remainder of the current term of office, which runs until 25 January 2030. The decision was adopted in Brussels on 22 September 2026 and published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 30 September 2026 as Council Decision (EU) 2026/2182.

The appointment rests on Article 305 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and on Council Decision (EU) 2019/852 of 21 May 2019 determining the composition of the Committee of the Regions. The Committee is composed of representatives of regional and local bodies who either hold a regional or local authority electoral mandate or are politically accountable to an elected assembly. The current five-year term was set by Council Decision (EU) 2025/71 of 10 December 2024, which appointed the members and alternate members for the period from 26 January 2025 to 25 January 2030.

The four appointments

All four appointees are representatives of local bodies holding a local authority electoral mandate, and all serve only for the remainder of the current term:

• As members: Philippe GENGLER, member of the Municipal Council of the Commune of Lenningen, and Annie NICKELS-THEIS, member of the Municipal Council of the Commune of Bourscheid.
• As alternate members: Jessie THILL, member of the Municipal Council of the Commune of Walferdange, and Marc Michel Marguerite Charles URY, member of the Municipal Council of the Commune of Grevenmacher.

The vacancies being filled

The two members’ seats became vacant following the resignation of Alexandre DONNERSBACH and the end of the national mandate on the basis of which Natalie SILVA had been proposed for appointment. The two alternate members’ seats became vacant following the resignation of Ricardo MARQUES and the end of the national mandate on the basis of which Linda GAASCH had been proposed.

The Luxembourgish Government submitted the four candidacies to the Council, which adopted them without amendment. The decision notes that each appointee holds a local authority electoral mandate, the condition required for sitting on the assembly.

Entry into force and legal framework

Under Article 2 of the decision, the measure entered into force on the date of its adoption, 22 September 2026. The text was signed at Brussels for the Council by its President, T. BYRNE, and carries the European Legislation Identifier http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2026/2182/oj.

The decision is a routine but necessary adjustment to the composition of the Committee, which must be renewed whenever a seat falls vacant mid-term. Because the appointments cover only the remainder of the mandate, the four representatives will leave office on 25 January 2030 together with the rest of the Luxembourgish delegation.

The change directly affects how Luxembourg’s communes are represented in the European Union’s advisory assembly. With two full members and two alternates drawn from the municipal councils of Lenningen, Bourscheid, Walferdange and Grevenmacher, the Grand Duchy maintains its full complement of seats and its voice in the Committee’s opinions on regional and local policy until the end of the term.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union, L series, 2026/2182, 30 September 2026, p. 1-2 (official reference: CELEX 32026D2182).