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The Commission currently consists of 25 Commissioners, one from each member state of the EU, supported by an administrative body of several thousand European civil servants. Each Commissioner takes responsibility for a particular area of policy, and heads a department called a Directorate General . The Commission is headed by a President (from November 2004, José Durão Barroso of Portugal).
The term “the Commission” is generally used to refer both to the administrative body in its entirety, and to the team of Commissioners who lead it.
The purpose-built Berlaymont building in Brussels, housing the European Commission
Unlike the Council of the European Union, the Commission is intended to be a body independent of member states. Commissioners are therefore not permitted to take instructions from the government of the country that appointed them, but are supposed to represent the interests of the citizens of the EU as a whole.
The Commission differs from other institutions in the EU system through its “power of initiative”. This means that only the Commission has the authority to initiate legislation in the areas known as the “first pillar” (a category which includes most areas of policy). However, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament are both able to formally request that the Commission legislate on a particular topic. In the areas that fall within the “second pillar” ( foreign policy and defence) and “third pillar” ( criminal law), the Commission shares the power of initiating legislation with member states.
The Commission also takes the role of “guardian of the treaties”, which includes taking responsibility for initiating infringement proceedings at the European Court of Justice against member states and others who it considers to have breached the EU treaties and other community law.
The Commission negotiates international trade agreements (in the World Trade Organization) and other international agreements on behalf of the EU. It closely co-operates in this with the Council of the European Union.
The Commission is responsible for adopting technical measures to implement legislation adopted by the Council and, in most cases, the Parliament. This legislation is subject to the approval of committees made up of representatives of member states. This process is sometimes known by the jargon term of comitology.
The Commission also regulatesIn the context of government and public services regulation (as a process) is the control of something by rules, as opposed to its prohibition. In economics, it is part of the government relationship with markets, often seen as the opposite of deregulatio competitionCompetition characterises a biochemical, ecologic, economic, political, or sporting activity whereby two or more individuals or groups strive antagonistically against one another for some reward. The reward could consist of: fame, esteem, reputation, or r in the Union, vetting all mergers with Community-wide effects, and initiating proceedings against companies which violate EU competition laws.
The President of the Commission is chosen by the European CouncilThe European Council sometimes informally called the European Summit is a meeting of the heads of state or government of the European Union, and the President of the European Commission (not to be confused with the Council of the European Union, or the Co, but the choice must be approved by the European Parliament. The remaining Commissioners are appointed by the member states in agreement with the President, who must decide the role of each Commissioner. Finally, the new Commission as a whole must be approved by the Parliament.
In October 2004, the first proposed list of Commissioners for the Barroso CommissionThe Barroso Commission composed of President Jose Durao Barroso and 24 more Commissioners, follows the Prodi Commission as the European Commission. It took office on 22 November 2004. Originally set to take office in November 1, 2004, strong opposition by was withdrawn when it became clear that the Parliament would not endorse it. José Durão Barroso then made a number of changes to particular proposed appointments that had been controversial, and a revised list was accepted by the Parliament on November 18, 2004
In addition to its role in approving a new Commission, the European Parliament has the power at any time to force the entire Commission to resign through a vote of no confidence. (This requires a vote that makes up at least two-thirds of those voting and a majority of the total membership of the Parliament). While it has never used this power, it threatened to use it against the Commission headed by Jacques SanterJacques Santer (born May 18, 1937) is a politician from Luxembourg. He was finance minister of Luxembourg from 1979 until 1989, and Prime Minister of Luxembourg from 1984 to 1995, as a member of the Christian Social People's Party, which has been the lead in 1999, with the result that the whole Commission resigned of its own accord. (See the Santer Commission ResignationSanter Commission Resignation refers to the resignation of the Santer Commission from the European Commission. The Santer Commission, led by Jacques Santer took office in 1995. After an investigation into allegations of corruption, on 15 March 1999 the en for more details).
At the time of writing in November 2004, the Commission consists of 25 Commissioners. This Commission will serve from 22 November, 2004 to 31 October, 2009
The enlargement of the Union on 1 May 2004 increased the number of member states from 15 to 25, and had an effect on the make-up of the Commission. Prior to this date, there were 20 Commissioners. In the months after May 2004 the size of the Commission was temporarily increased to 30 members – consisting of the 20 Commissioners already in post, plus one from each of the 10 acceding member states. The number was reduced to 25, with one Commissioner from each member state, when the Barroso commission took office in November 2004.
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