The object of this article is not to describe the Comitology decision 87/373/EEC or to explain the different committee procedures as this has already been done elsewhere. The intention is more to look into the "daily life" of the comitology committees from the point of view of a national civil servant and to analyse their working methods, rules of procedure, style of negotiation and composition. There will be a critical assessment of the comitology committees in the environmental sector in terms of their efficiency and effectiveness, and against the background of the discussions on the democratic deficit in the EU. The article will conclude with some realistic proposals as to how the comitology system can be reformed
