A study of the European Commission

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MICHAEL ARRHENIUS

DIT, AUNGIER STREET

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

A study of the European Commission


INTRODUCTION

When examining the European Union it is very easy to look at the European Commission as the central character of the EU’s policy-making process. Without it’s 20 Commissioners and the 15.000 staff members that serve it, the European Union would not work. In short, the Council and the European Parliament need a proposal from the commission before they can pass a legislation. Also EU laws are mainly upheld by Commission actions, the integrity of the single market is maintained through Commission policing as well as research & technological development programs managed by the Commission.

The Commission is based in Brussels (200 rue de la Loi) and the Commissioners meet once a week to conduct their business. If necessary though, the Commission may hold special sessions in addition to it’s weekly meeting. Routine matters are dealt with in simplified written procedures, which speeds up the process within the Commission. The powers and directives of the Commission are covered by articles 155-163 in the treaty.

COMPOSITION

It is the 20 Commissioners (members of Commission) who provide the political leadership and direction for the organization. Today the 20 members include two (2) from the larger EU countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK) and one (1) from each of the other Member States (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Ireland, Portugal & Greece). At present five (5) of the members of the Commission are women, which is more than it has ever had. This goes along with the increased gender balance that the European Union as a whole is striving for.

To help the 20 Commissioners, around 15.000 people work on as the Commission staff, making this the largest institution within the European Union. But the employment total is however modest given the wide range of responsibilities of the Commission and the fact that their work is essential to the Commission because of its need to reach all of the citizens within the Union, and in their own language.

The Commission is also divided into 26 Directorates-General (DGs), with an additional 15 or so specialized services. Each DG is lead by a Director-General, each responsible for its DG to one of the Commissioners. But in the end it is the Commissioners that have the overall political and operational responsibility for the work within the organization. To help the Commissioners, each one has a personal “cabinet” consisting of six (6) officials who serve as a bridge between the Commissioners and the DGs. These officials are also the eyes and ears of the Commissioners, to help them be up to date of what is happening within the organization. Under the “Code of Conduct for Commissioners”, the officials are to be appointed in a multinational and qualitative matter and therefor are very few, or in some cases none, of the officials are from the same country as the Commissioner that they work for.

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APPOINTMENT

At the head of the Commission are the President and one or two Vice-Presidents (at the present two). The President holds office for a two-year renewable term and is nominated and chosen by the Head of State of the Member States after a consultation with the European Parliament. The other Commissioners are then nominated by the 15 governments in consultation with the incoming President. The Commissioners are appointed for a five-year term, which is the same as the European Parliament, only that the Commission starts its work 6 months later. After the five-year term, the Commissioners can ...

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