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Composition of the European Commission
Composition of the European Commission
The European Commission is composed of 27 commissioners, one from each country. Together they take decisions on the Commission’s political and strategic direction. Before we go any deeper, it’s important to clarify the process for defining who the Commission members will be. Following the European Elections, which take place every 5 years, as you may remember from previous lessons, the European Council has the responsibility to select the person who will be subject to a vote in the European Parliament. As stated in the TEU, the European Council must do so while taking into account the popular vote, which implies a closer bond with the citizens.
Berlaymont_Breissel.jpgImage: Berlaymont Building, European Commission – Brussels, Belgium
Composition of the European Commission
Composition of the European Commission
The European Commission is composed of 27 commissioners, one from each country. Together they take decisions on the Commission’s political and strategic direction. Before we go any deeper, it’s important to clarify the process for defining who the Commission members will be. Following the European Elections, which take place every 5 years, as you may remember from previous lessons, the European Council has the responsibility to select the person who will be subject to a vote in the European Parliament. As stated in the TEU, the European Council must do so while taking into account the popular vote, which implies a closer bond with the citizens.
Spitzenkandidatenprocess: lead candidate process
Spitzenkandidatenprocess: lead candidate process
In the 2014 elections, the spitzenkandidaten process, which roughly translates to lead candidate process, was introduced. In advance of the European elections, each European political party put forward the candidate (or candidates) that were supposed to be their proposed future President of the European Commission. This method tried to foster a greater link between citizens and politicians by limiting the candidates picked by the Council to those that were presented as the ones we were voting for during the European elections. Back then, Jean-Claude Juncker won the nomination for EPP and went on to become the President of the European Commission. Since the procedure is not formally enshrined into EU legislation, it depends on mere norms that most parties have agreed to – yet, one can argue that it lacks strong legal support.
Then, the President-elect faces a vote of confidence in the European Parliament: if it fails to achieve a majority, the European Council must select another candidate; if it is successful, we move on to the next step.
Election of the commissioners
Election of the commissioners
At this point, national governments propose their respective commissioner, exception made for the member state of the President-elect (since they already have a member of the Commission and it’s the President). Each of the selected commissioners is assigned a specific portfolio by the President-elect, which is usually connected to their professional experience and former political endeavours. Firstly, they must be approved by the Parliament’s corresponding committee, that is, by the group of MEPs that will scrutinize that portfolio. For example, commissioners with financial portfolios will face the Economic and Monetary Affairs committee. If everything goes well, the Commission is approved by the European Parliament and is granted a 5-year mandate. However, it is possible that some committees reject a proposed commissioner, thus forcing a Member State to suggest another person for the post; moreover, at the end, the Parliament has the option to reject the whole Commission, which would send us back to the beginning of the process.
The High Representative for the Common Foreigh and Security Policy
The High Representative for the Common Foreigh and Security Policy
Among these is the High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, which is one of the EU top jobs. 1) it is responsible for the EU’s external action service and its delegations at the global scale; 2) it chairs the Foreign Affairs Council; 3) it attends the European Council meetings; 4) it is one of the Vice-Presidents of the European Commission; and so on.
The European Commission is a supranational body that acts beyond the scope of national countries. In addition, it is worth noticing that, much like the EU overall, the integration process has favoured a transfer of responsibilities from Member States to the Commission. In its early years, when it was known as the High Authority, it was only responsible for ensuring that the objectives of the treaty were met and that the common market functioned smoothly.
History of the European Commission
History of the European Commission
We can trace the European Commission’s history to 1951 with the establishment of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community by the Treaty of Paris and Robert Schuman’s proposal. The High authority was a supranational administrative body of the ECSC and included 9 members appointed by the Member States. In 1958, with the establishment of the Treaty of Rome two other Commissions were created: the Commission of the European Atomic Energy Community, and the Commission of the European Economic Community. In 1967, with the Merger Teatry, the three communities merged to become a new body, known as the Commission of the European Communities.
Tasks of the European Commission
Tasks of the European Commission
Things have changed, and nowadays the Commission is the international representative of the European Union. It negotiates trade deals with third parties (as part of the Common commercial policy, introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon) and has a monopoly on legislative initiative. The latter means that the EU law depends on the European Commission’s willingness to push a certain bill: unlike most democratic regimes, the parliament does not hold the power to present legislation (however, they can pressure the Commission to do so, but that does not mean it will happen).
Moreover, the European Commision plays an important role in developing the EU’s overall strategy and in designing and implementing EU policies. Also, it proposes and implements the EU Budget and manages the EU funding programmes.
Organisation of the European Commission
Organisation of the European Commission
It is important to refer that the European Commission is organised into policy departaments, which means that it is divided into Directorates-General, which are responsible for different policy areas. There are also service departments which deal with particular administrative issues and executive agencies that manage programmes set up by the commission.
The Commision has certain principles that guide its work, such as transparency, responsibility towards the environment, equality and ethical behaviour.
Finally, being the political executive arm of the EU means that the commission is one of the most important European institutions and that it plays an important role in promoting the general interest of the EU.
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