The European Commission
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Like the Parliament and the Council, the European Commission was set up by the initial treaties in the 1950s.
The European Commission is first and foremost an institution that acts to represent and uphold the interests of the EU as a whole. It is therefore independent of national governments.
One of the main functions of the Commission is the proposal of new European laws, which it presents to the Parliament and to the Council. The Commission also has an executive arm, whereby it implements the decisions taken by the Parliament and Council. Implementation involves the day-to-day running of the business of the EU, whether that be implementing policy or spending the EU funds.
As part of the day-to-day management of the EU, the Commission employs a large number of administrative staff, including translators and secretarial staff. The number of staff totals 25,000. This figure may sound like a vast amount of civil servants, but it roughly compares to a medium sized city council in Europe.
Figure 1 :: European Commission building
Composition of the Commission
The name Commission has a dual meaning. Primarily it refers to the institution the European Commission, but it also refers to the group of people that take its decisions. The group of people is made up of one person from each EU Member State. Informally the people that make up the group are known as the 'commissioners'. All commissioners once held a post of political importance in their national country, but as commissioners, they are committed to furthering the interests of the EU, not their national government.
A new Commission is appointed every five years and within six months of the European Parliamentary elections. The procedure is as follows:-
- The governments' of MS designate a new Commission President.
- The Commission President is approved or not by the EP.
- If approved the Commission President, along with other MS governments, chooses the other commissioners.
- The new EP interviews each member and if it agrees with the composition of the Commission as a whole, it approves and the new Commission can start work.
The Commission is held politically accountable to the European Parliament that has the power to dismiss the whole Commission under censure. The Commission President has the power to dismiss individual commissioners, provided that the other commissioners approve.
The Commission is also held accountable through its attendance at European Parliament and through questions posed to it by MEPs.
Location of Commission
Officially the European Commission is based in Brussels. However, it also has offices in Luxembourg and representations in all EU countries.
Figure 2 :: View of the European Commission building
Work of the Commission
The European Commission has four main roles:
- Propose new legislation to Parliament and the Council
- Manage and implement EU policies and the budget
- Enforce European law (jointly with the Court of Justice
- Represent the EU at the international level
Proposing new legislation to Parliament and the Council
It is the Commission's responsibility to draw proposals for new European legislation. The proposals, which are presented to the European Parliament and the Council of Europe, must be for the realisation of benefit to EU citizens in general and must not be specific to one country or industry.
The EU will openly propose legislation if it considers that a problem cannot be solved in a better way at national level. In consulting the opinions of national parliaments and other interest groups, if the Commission decides that EU legislation is the best way of solving a problem, then it will propose that legislation. In order to get the technical details of the proposal right, the Commission then consults experts via its committees and groups.
Manager and implement EU policies and budget
National and local authorities do most of the actual spending of the EU budget, with the Commission supervising the expenditure. Of course, this is all done under the supervision of the Court of Auditors.
The Commission must also manage any policies adopted by the EP and the Council. A good example of this is the competition policy, where the Commission is able to authorise or restrict mergers between companies. The Commission also plays a key role in ensuring that EU countries do not subsidise their industries and distort competition as a result.
Enforce European Law
The Commission, together with the Court of Justice, is responsible for ensuring that EU law is applied correctly in all EU states. If a country is not meeting the required standard of implementation of EU law, the Commission has the authority to take action to remedy the situation.
The first action the Commission can take is to launch an 'infringement procedure'. This means sending the offending government a letter detailing the offence and setting out a deadline for the government to reply.
If this fails to stir the national government into putting right the offence, the Commission can refer the matter to the Court of Justice that has the authority to impose penalties. Penalties given by the Court of Justice are binding on Member States and must be obeyed.
Represent the EU at the international level
The Commission allows the Members States to speak with a united voice in international forums such as the World Trade Organisation.
The Commission has the additional responsibility of concluding international agreements on behalf of the EU.
Figure 3 :: Inside the European Commission
Organisation of work in the Commission
The Commission President decides the commissioner responsible for each area of policy. The Commission meets once a week in Brussels, where items on the agenda are presented to the Commission by the commissioner responsible for that area of policy. The Commission then makes a collective decision.
Commission's staff
The Commission's staff is organised into departments, known as the 'Directorates-General' (DGs). Each DG is responsible for a particular area of policy and is headed by a Director-General who in turn reports to a Commissioner.
Overall organisation is provided by the Secretariat-General (SG). The Secretary-General, who reports directly to the Commission's President, heads this part.
The process of legislative proposal would follow the route whereby the legislation outline is co-ordinated by the DG, which would then be checked by the SG. Once the proposal is ready, it is put on the agenda for the next meeting. If a majority of the Commission votes to adopt the proposal, the document will be sent to the European Parliament and Council for their consideration.
For more information visit www.europa.eu.int/institutions/comm/index_en.htm
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