- Date:
- 1951 - present
- Areas Of Involvement:
- executive
European Commission
News •
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What is the European Commission?
The European Commission (EC) is the executive arm of the European Union (EU). It drafts EU legislation, implements policies, and enforces EU law. The EC also manages the EU budget and represents the EU internationally, including negotiating treaties.
The European Council selects the president of the EC. The president then chooses the other members of the EC in discussion with the member state governments. Each member state nominates a commissioner, but the commissioners must represent the EU's interests rather than their home country's.
The EC is accountable to the European Parliament, which can dismiss the entire EC with a motion of censure.
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What is the main job of the European Commission?
The European Commission (EC) serves as the executive arm of the European Union (EU). While it has legislative and judicial functions, its primary responsibilities include administering and implementing EU policies and legislation, drafting community legislation, enforcing EU law, and representing the EU at the international level, including negotiating treaties. The EC is composed of commissioners nominated by member states but is responsible for representing the EU's interests independently. The EC is accountable to the European Parliament, which has the power to dismiss it. Each year, European countries that are part of the EU agree on a budget for the EU.
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How is the European Commission different from the European Parliament?
The European Commission (EC) and the European Parliament are both institutions of the European Union (EU), but they have different roles. The EC functions as the executive arm of the EU. It is responsible for drafting legislation, implementing EU policies, and enforcing EU law. The EC is composed of commissioners who are nominated by member states but are meant to act independently in the interest of the EU. The Parliament is the legislative assembly of the EU, consisting of members directly elected by EU citizens. It shares legislative power with the Council of the European Union and serves as a democratic check on other EU institutions.
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Who leads the European Commission and how are its members chosen?
Ursula von der Leyen is the current president of the European Commission (EC). The EC consists of one member, known as commissioners, from each of the EU's 27 member states.
The governments of the member states jointly select a commission president, who is then approved by Parliament. The commission president-designate, in discussion with the member state governments, chooses the other members of the EC. The new Parliament then interviews each member and gives its opinion on the new EC as a body. After approval, the EC officially begins its work.
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What are some important policies or areas the European Commission works on?
The European Commission (EC) is the executive arm of the European Union (EU). The primary roles of the EC include administering and implementing EU policies and legislation, drafting community legislation, and enforcing EU law. The EC also represents the EU at the international level, including negotiating international treaties. Each year, the EC formulates a budget that covers expenditures on agricultural support, regional and social development, and the financing of transnational agencies. The Parliament is the only EU institution whose members are elected by the votes of individual citizens of EU nations.
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How does the European Commission help countries in the European Union work together?
The European Commission (EC) supports collaboration among European Union (EU) countries through several key functions:
- Proposing legislation The EC drafts new laws for the European Parliament.
- Managing policies It administers and implements EU policies, including budget formulation and spending.
- Ensuring compliance The EC monitors adherence to EU decisions and oversees the enforcement of EU law.
- International representation It represents the EU at the international level, negotiating treaties.
The EC consists of commissioners nominated by member states but is responsible for representing the EU's interests independently. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ensures the uniform application of EU law within member states.
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European Commission (EC), an institution of the European Union (EU) and its constituent entities that makes up the organization’s executive arm.
The EC also has legislative functions, such as proposing new laws for the European Parliament, and judicial functions, such as finding legal solutions to business and trade issues between countries within the EU. The body’s primary tasks, however, include:
- Administration and implementation of EU and community policies and legislation, including formulation and spending of the budget
- Initiation and drafting of community legislation
- Enforcement of EU and community law
- Representation of the EU and the communities at the international level, including negotiation of international treaties
The EC is composed of members called commissioners, who are citizens of and are nominated by the respective governments of each member state. However, the EC is charged with representing the EU or community interest, not the interests of the member states, and the commissioners are called to act independently in that interest. They are expressly forbidden to take instructions from their member state. Because of its responsibility to represent the European interest and enforce the treaties and legislation that provide the legal foundation for the EU and communities, the EC is known as the guardian of the treaties.
The EC is made up of one member from each of the EU’s 27 member states. The Lisbon Treaty, which reformed the governance of the EU, went into effect on December 1, 2009. One of the treaty’s key provisions was to reduce the number of commissioners to two-thirds of that number by 2014 so that thereafter member states would provide the EC with commissioners on a rotating basis.
A new EC is appointed every five years, within six months of the elections to the European Parliament, which occur in June. The procedure is that the governments of the member states jointly select a commission president, who is then approved by Parliament. The president of the EC is chosen by the European Council, a body made up the heads of state of each of the countries in the EU, for a term lasting two and one-half years. The commission president-designate, in discussion with the member state governments, chooses the other members of the EC. The new Parliament then interviews each member and gives its opinion on the new EC as a body. After approval the EC officially begins its work. Its term of office runs until October 31 of the fifth year.
The EC is politically accountable to Parliament, which has the power to dismiss the whole EC by adopting a motion of censure. Individual members of the EC must resign if asked to do so by the president, provided that the other commissioners approve. The EC attends sessions of Parliament and is responsible for formulating regulations governing political parties at the European Parliament level and providing for public funding for the party campaigns for Parliament.