Understanding the European Commission: Structure and Role
The European Commission: An Introduction
1. What is the Commission?
The Commission (European Commission) fulfills the role of an executive administration for the Union and was given the sole right as the proposer of legislation under the original treaties. This remains the case and makes the Commission more powerful than simply a civil service bureaucracy carrying out the will of an elected government. It is not to be confused with a government itself; it is able to formulate policy within the parameters of the agreed policy areas contained in the treaties and to make proposals for legislation to realize this. The real power of initiative is, however, somewhat compromised by the policy formulation and guidance provided by the Council of Ministers and the European Council.
The Commission also has its own powers of decision generally to be inferred from Art 17 TEU: the Commission shall promote the general interest of the Union and take appropriate initiatives to that end; union legislative acts may only be adopted on the basis of a Commission proposal, except where the Treaties provide otherwise; the Commission’s term of office shall be five years. In carrying out its responsibilities, the Commission shall be completely independent; the Commission shall consist of a number of members, including its President and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, corresponding to two thirds of the number of Member States, unless the European Council, unanimously, decides to alter this number. The members shall be chosen from among the nationals of the Member States; the President is proposed by the European Parliament; the Commission, as a body, shall be responsible to the European Parliament.
2. How is it composed?
The Commission is composed of the College of Commissioners of 28 members including 1 president, 7 Vice-Presidents and 20 Commissioners.
The candidate for President of the Commission is proposed to the European Parliament by the European Council that decides by qualified majority and taking into account the elections to the European Parliament. The Commission President is then elected by the European Parliament by a majority of its component members (at least 376 out of 751 votes). The President-elect selects the 27 other members on the basis of the suggestions made by Member States. The Commission´s current President is Jean-Claude Juncker.
The Commissioners, one from each EU country, are the Commission´s political leadership during a 5-year term. Each Commissioner is assigned responsibility for specific policy areas by the President. It used to be the case that the larger states had two Commissioners each, it became increasingly clear from the 1995 expansion, which saw an increase to 20 Commissioners. On a practical level, there were simply not enough subject matters for an effective and realistic division of work into 20 or more portfolios, and it was agreed during the 2004 accession negotiation discussions that the number of Commissioners should be reduced to less than the number of states. The number of Commissioners can be changed but presently remains at one per state. The Commissioners are required to be completely independent in the performance of their duties and not to take or seek instruction from any government or any other body. In statistics from 2005 the Commission was assisted by about 25000 staff and following 2004 and 2007 expansions of the Union, this figure rose to around 38000. The Commission, then, is simply not a massive bureaucracy. In the member states there are hundreds of thousands of civil servants, with some single departments employing far more than the entire European Commission. Part of the reason for the much lower numbers in the EU is that most of the work covered or generated by EU legislation is, in fact, carried out by the national agencies.