It was established by the Treaty of Rome of 1957 in order to unite different economic interest groups to establish the Common Market. The creation of this committee gave them an institution to allow their voices to be heard by the Commission, the Council and the Parliament.
The Treaty of Maastricht considerably enlarged the Committee's domain. Its influence now extends to matters such as social policy, social and economic cohesion, environment, education, health, customers protection, industry, TEN, indirect taxation and structural funds.