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The Walloon Region played a very active role in the drafting of the Treaties of Maastricht and Amsterdam. These Treaties take into account the interests of the regions in the organization and functioning of the institutions of the European Union (EU).

This achievement strengthens the position of the Walloon Region in several ways:

• the presence of regional ministers on the committees of the Council of European Ministers,
• the presence of the Walloon Region in the Committee of the Regions (CoR) and its involvement in the areas in which it exercises its power to deliver opinions (economic and social cohesion, trans-European transport networks, energy, telecommunications, public health, employment, social policy, environment, vocational training, etc.).

The Committee of the Regions is a consultative committee made up of representatives of the regional and local authorities. It has 222 members and an equal number of alternate members who are appointed for four years upon a proposal by the Member States. This is a representative assembly which is responsible for making the voice of the local and regional authorities heard within the European Union (EU).

Wallonia's European policy is based on three main principles:

• subsidiarity: this principle means that within the EU decisions must be taken at the level closest to the citizen and that the EU intervenes only if the objectives of the envisaged action cannot be achieved efficiently at the level of the national, regional or local administration;
• proximity: all the levels of government must be close to the citizens so that they can always make their voices heard;
• partnership: the four levels of government (European, national, regional and local) must work together throughout the decision-making process.

The Walloon Region is therefore a recognized and reliable interlocutor and partner within the European institutions.