European Commission

Berlaymont, the Commission's seat

The European Commission is the executive branch of the European Union. It is a cabinet government of 27 "Commissioners" led by a Commission President (currently José Manuel Barroso). The present Commission, known after its President as the "Barroso Commission" took office in late 2004 and is serving a five-year term. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union.

The term "Commission" can mean either the college of Commissioners mentioned above, or the larger institution; including the administrative body of about 23,000 European civil servants who are divided into departments called Directorates-General. It is primarily based in the Berlaymont building of Brussels and its internal working languages are English, French and German.

History

Main article: History of the European Commission

The Commission originated in 1951 with the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community. Its administrative executive was the 9 member "High Authority". In 1958, with the creation of two new communities, two sister bodies were established under the terms of the Treaties of Rome. These were the Commission of the European Economic Community and the Commission of the European Atomic Energy Community. The former of these two bodies is generally considered as the "direct ancestor" of the modern Commission, rather than the older High Authority, hence the Commission today recognises the EEC's Hallstein Commission as the first European Commission. The three bodies co-existed until 1 July 1967 where, by means of the Merger Treaty, the three bodies were combined into a single administration under President Jean Rey. This body was called the "Commission of the European Communities".

One of the most successful Commissioners was that headed by Jacques Delors (the Delors Commission), with later Presidents failing to meet the same success, however the body did see expansions in its powers, with President Prodi being dubbed as the "Prime Minister of Europe" following the Amsterdam Treaty. The Commission has also been coming under greater control of the European Parliament aiding its legitimacy; In 1999, pressure and threats from the Parliament forced the resignation of the Santer Commission and in 2004 Barroso's was forced to reshuffle his Commission proposals due to opposition from many MEPs.

Powers and functions

Incumbent President Barroso

The Commission was set up from the start to act as an independent supranational authority separate from governments, it has been described as "the only body paid to think European". Although the members come from national governments, they are bound to act independently — neutral from other influences. This is in contrast to the Council, which represents governments, and the Parliament, which represents citizens.

Executive power of the Union is held by the Council, representing governments. That power is conferred upon the Commission by the Council and may be withdrawn. Powers are outlined in Articles 211-219 of the EC treaty and are more restricted than most national executives, in part due to the lack of the Commission's lack of power over areas like foreign policy — that power is held by the European Council which has been described be some also as an executive. Considering that under the Reform Treaty the European Council would become a formal institution with the power of appointing the Commission, it could be said that the two bodies combined hold the executive power of the Union (the European Council also holding individually national executive powers). However the Commission individually currently only holds that powers over the European Community. The governmental powers of the Commission have been such that some such as former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt have suggested changing its name to the "European Government", calling the present name of "commission" as ridiculous.

The Commission differs from the other institutions in that over the European Community, it alone as legislative initiative. Meaning only the Commission can make formal proposals for legislation — bills cannot originate in the legislative branch. However it shares that right with the Council over the CFSP pillar, and has no right over Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters. In the Community however, Council and Commission are able to request legislation. In most cases the Commission initiates on the basis of these proposals, this monopoly is to ensure coordinated and coherent drafting of European law. The monopoly has been challenged by some who claim the Parliament should also have the right, with most national parliaments holding the right in some respect. Under the Reform Treaty, EU citizens would also be able to request the Commission to legislate in an area via a petition carrying one million signatures, but it would not be binding.

Once legislation is passed, it is the Commission's responsibility to ensure it is implemented, by member states or through the agencies of the European Union. In adopting the necessary technical measures the Commission is assisted by committees made up of representatives of member states. This process is sometimes known by the jargon term of comitology. It is also responsible for the implementation of the EU budget; ensuring, along with the Court of Auditors, that EU funds are correctly spent. In particular the Commission has a duty to ensure the treaties and law is upheld, potentially by taking member states to the Court of Justice. In this role it is known informally as the "guardian of the treaties". Although foreign policy is primarily under control of member states, the Commission also provides external representation for the Union. It is responsible for negotiating international trade agreements, such as within the World Trade Organisation. The Presidents of the Commission and Council attend G8 meetings.

College

Floor 13 of the Berlaymont, Commission's meeting room

The Commission President is nominated by the European Council, who is then officially elected by the European Parliament. The President is often a leading politician from a member-state. In selecting their nomination the European Council take into account the latest European Elections hence the recent swing to the centre-right has produced the current President, José Manuel Barroso of the European People's Party. However a number of other criteria are followed by various members when considering. For example, geography, political influence, language proficiency (e.g. French), membership in the eurozone and within Schengen. In 2004, this system produced a number of candidates and was criticised by some MEPs; following the drawn-out selection, the ALDE group leader described the procedure as a "Justus Lipsius carpet market" producing only the "lowest common denominator". Green-EFA co-leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit asked Barroso after his first speech "If you are the best candidate, why were you not the first?"

Following their appointment, the President appoints a number of Vice-Presidents among the Commissioners. There are currently five, including a single "First" Vice-President. They have relatively little extra power through the position beyond their existing portfolio. The current first vice-president is Margot Wallström. The Commission is composed of a 26-member college of "Commissioners" (excluding the President). Each member is appointed from a state, however does not represent it. The President delegates portfolios between each of the members and then the body as a whole must be approved by the Parliament before they can take office. The present Commission, the Barroso Commission, took office in late 2004 after being delayed by objections from the Parliament. In 2007 the Commission increased from 25 to 27 members. With the large size of the Commission, President Barroso has adopted a more Presidential style of control over the college, which has earned him some criticism. There has also been a greater degree of Politicisation within the Commission, being welcomed by Commissioner Wallström as necessary for citizens engagement.

Organisation

Press Room in the Berlaymont

The Commission is primarily based in Brussels, in the Berlaymont. The President's office and the Commission's meeting room are based on the 13th floor. The Commission also operates out of numerous other buildings in Brussels and Luxembourg. The Commission is divided into departments known as Directorates-General (DGs) that can be likened to departments or ministries. Each covers a specific policy area or service such as External relations or Translation. Each DG is headed by Director-General who is responsible to a Commissioner. A Commissioners portfolio can be supported by numerous DGs. DGs prepare proposals and if adopted by a majority of Commissioners when meeting it goes forward to Parliament and Council for consideration.

According to figures published by the Commission 23,043 persons were employed by the Commission as officials and temporary agents in April 2007. Additionally 9019 "external staff" (e.g. Contractual agents, detached national experts, young experts etc.) were employed. The single largest DG is the Directorate-General for Translation with a 2186 strong staff. The largest group by nationality is Belgian (21.4 %), probably due to a majority (16,626) of staff being based in the country. The Commission's civil service is headed by a Secretary General, currently Catherine Day.

Communication with the press is handled by the Directorate-General Communication. The Commission's chief spokesperson is Johannes Laitenberger who takes the midday press briefings, commonly known as the "Midday Presser". It takes place every weekday in the Commission's press room at the Berlaymont where journalists can ask can question Commission officials on any topic and legitimately expect to get an "on the record" answer for live TV. Such a situation is unique in the world. There is a greater number of press corps in Brussels than Washington D.C. with media outlets in every Union member-state having a Brussels correspondent.

Legitimacy

It is argued by some that the method of appointment for the Commission increases the democratic deficit in the European Union. While the Commission is the executive branch, the candidate are chosen primarily by the 27 national governments, meaning it is hard for the Commission to be thrown out directly by the voters. The legitimacy of the Commission is mainly drawn from the vote of approval that is required from the Parliament along with Parliament's power to sack the body. However there has been less than 50% turnout in the Parliament's elections since 1999. While higher than some national elections, including the US Congress, the fact that there are no direct elections to the Commission President like in the US makes the post less legitimate in the eyes of the public. A further problem is the lack of a coherant electorate, as even though democratic structures and methods are developing there is not such a mirror in creating a European civil society. The new Reform Treaty could go some way to resolving the deficit in creating greater democratic controls on the Commission, including enshrining the procedure of linking elections to the selection of the Commission president. Under the plans of Vice President Wallström, European political parties would gain greater prominence and could lead to the Commission President being elected via the Parliament's elections.

The alternative viewpoint on the Commission states that the policy areas in which it has power to initiate legislation are ill suited to an institution accountable to electoral pressures. In this respect the Commission has been compared with institutions such as independent Central Banks which deal with technical areas of policy that are of little electoral salience. In addition some defenders of the Commission point out that legislation must be approved by the Council in all areas (the ministers of member states) and the European Parliament in some areas before it can be adopted, thus the amount of legislation which is adopted in any one country without the approval of its government is limited.

Future of the Commission

The proposed Reform Treaty, the details of which were agreed in June 2007, largely retains the reforms outlined in the rejected Constitutional Treaty. The constitution's reforms proposed a number of changes, notably the number of Commissioners would be reduced; from 2014 only two out of three member-states would have the right to representation. The representation would be rotated equally between all states and no state would have more than two in any single Commission. The Commission would also include the new High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, as one of the Vice Presidents, replacing the External Relations Commissioner. The High Representative would have been called the "Union Foreign Minister" - the first time a member of the Commission held the common national title of "Minister". In the appointment of the Commission, the most recent European elections would have to be taken into account. This would create a stronger link between the elections and the Commission. The President would still be proposed by the Council although when the decision goes to the Parliament the term "elect" is used rather than "approve". Whether this symbolic move will produce practical change is unknown.

See also

Institutions of the European Union Presidents of the European Union President of the European Commission Vice-President of the European Commission List of EU Commissioners by Nationality

Directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development Brussels and the European Union EFTA Surveillance Authority

External links

European Commission ec.europa.eu - official website Barroso Commission Representation in the Member States Margot Wallström's Blog Photo archive of past Commissions European NAvigator ena.lu - Multimedia website with historical information on the European Commission Welcome Europe welcomeurope.com - information on the EU funding from the Commission

EU Observer euobserver.com - Union related news Berlaymonster berlaymonster.blogspot.com - blog from Commission officials A fistful of Euros fistfulofeuros.net - major blog on EU issues Commission news on daylife daylife.com