Text 1 RE: Die Europäische Kommission

• The European Commission is a prominent EU institution often criticized for perceived excesses.
• Despite its visibility, the Commission lacks independent decision-making powers.
• The Commission is headquartered in Brussels.
• The Commission proposes new laws and policies and oversees their implementation in member states.
• The European Commission is headed by a president and a College of Commissioners, functioning as a European cabinet.
• Beneath them are career European bureaucrats in directorates-general (DGs).
• The Commission ensures EU policies align with treaty goals and principles.
• Commissioners and staff promote the EU's interests, not individual states'.
• The European Commission is the bureaucratic-executive arm of the EU.
• It is responsible for proposing new laws and policies and overseeing their implementation.
• The members of the College of Commissioners are nominated by member state governments for five-year renewable terms.
• They must be confirmed by the European Council and the European Parliament.
• The Commission president is nominated by the European Council and confirmed by the European Parliament majority.
• Commission presidents have become the public face of the EU.
• Most Commission staff work in Brussels-based directorates-general and services.
• Some work in Commission offices in EU member states and abroad.
• The detailed work of the Commission involves advisory, management, and regulatory committees supported by a Secretariat-General.
• The Commission manages the EU budget, handles external relations, represents the EU in trade negotiations, and processes EU membership applications.

Comparing executives

• In 2019, the European Parliament elections resulted in losses for the center-right and gains for anti-EU parties.
• EU leaders nominated Ursula von der Leyen as Commission president, the first woman to hold the post.
• The Commission president is not directly elected but is indirectly accountable to EU voters.
• Direct election of the Commission president would increase the Commission's political authority.
• The usual job of an executive in a democracy is to act as head of government, to make key appointments to the highest level of government and to steer government by setting the national agenda.
• The European Commission has features of a national executive, but with differences.
• The structure of the European Commission represents the bureaucratic-executive arm of the EU, headquartered in Brussels.
• It is headed by a president who is nominated by the European Council and approved by the European Parliament for renewable five-year terms.
• The College of Commissioners manages the European Commission, with each member state nominating a commissioner who is approved by the European Council and the European Parliament.
• Commissioners are responsible for a particular policy area
• The Commission is divided into directorates-general and services that are responsible for internal and external policy areas, or administrative functions
• The Commission's work is supported by a Secretariat-General
• The Commission is mainly supranational and confederal in character

Understanding Integration 7

• The study of institutions such as the European Commission has been revived to understand the EU as a political system.
• The focus has shifted to how institutions shape political decisions and informal patterns of behavior within the EU.
• Historical institutionalism examines institutions over time and how member states created institutions which resulted in path dependency
• Rational choice institutionalism seeks to understand how states delegate responsibilities to EU institutions assuming the delegation works to reduce costs and maximize benefits.
• Sociological institutionalism focuses on the norms, values, and culture within the EU instutions.

New institutionalism

• New institutionalism is a revival of institutionalism that goes beyond formal rules and looks at how institutions shape decisions and define interests.
• An institution is a formal organization or a set of rules or practices associated with a particular phenomenon.
• New EU laws and policies are drafted, and their implementation is overseen by Commission bureaucrats.
• The Commission differs from national equivalents by providing more leadership and functioning as the world's most powerful international bureaucracy.
• Brussels became the base of most EEC institutions in the 1950s.
• The Commission was given a permanent home with the new Berlaymont building completed in 1967, which housed the Commission, Council of Ministers, and the EP.
• In 2009, a master plan was created to address issues and give the European Quarter a facelift.

How the Commission evolved

• The origins of today's European Commission lie in the High Authority of the ECSC beginning in 1952, and was charged with encouraging the opening of the western European market in coal and steel.
• Jean Monnet hoped the High Authority would be powerful and independent, but concerns among the Benelux governments that it would be dominated by West Germany and France led to the creation of a Special Council of Ministers.
• Separate commissions for the EEC and Euratom joined the ECSC High Authority in 1958.
• The three commissions were combined in 1967 into a single Commission of the European Communities.
• As membership of the Community expanded in the 1970s and 1980s, the number of commissioners grew.
• The Commission has always been a champion of the supranational qualities of the EEC/EU.

Figure 10.2 The EU political system

• EU political system: the European Commission, the Council of Ministers, the European Parliament, the European Council, the European Court of Justice
• European Commission: Its membership consists of Commissioners who are appointed by governments of member states, its key function is policy formulation and implementation, and its key quality is that it is supranational
• Council of Ministers: Its membership consists of Government ministers from member states, its key function is discussion and adoption of new laws, and its key quality is discussion and adoption of laws
• European Parliament: Its membership consists of elected representatives, its key function is discussion and adoption of new laws, and its key quality is that it is supranational
• European Council: Its membership consists of elected leaders of member states, its key function is agenda-setting, and its key quality is intergovernmental
• European Court of Justice: Its membership consists of Judges appointed by member states, its key function is protection and interpretation of the treaties, and its key quality is that it is supranational
• The Commission witnessed declining powers, but also saw increasing visibility.
• There was a plan to stop the growth in the number of commissioners, which was becoming unsustainable.

Leadership: the President

• The Commission's president is the institution's dominant figure, and along with the president of the European Council – the most public face of the EU.
• As well as running the Commission, the president appears alongside meetings of world leaders, and it is expected to make public statements on critical issues, and has bilateral meetings with national leaders.
• Appointees have become more significant and more hotly contested.
• Presidents serve renewable five-year terms.
• The president is expected to give political guidance and direction to the EU.
• Specific powers of presidents: To lay down the guidelines for the work of the Commission, and decide its internal organization; to convene and chair meetings of the College, and approve agendas for College meetings; to regularly take questions before the European Parliament
• The character of the office changes according to the style of the office-holder, the agenda each brings to the task and the ability of a president to work with and command the respect of EU leaders.
• Where experience as a national government minister was once enough, now, experience as a prime minister is now preferred for presidents
• The difficulty was clear in the 2004 appointment season, when several leading candidates emerged.
• A compromise candidate for President was Portuguese Prime Minister José Manuel Barroso, he was confirmed to a second term in 2009.

PROFILE: Ursula von der Leyen

• Ursula von der Leyen took office in December 2019 as the thirteenth president of the European Commission.
• She is the first German president since founding president Walter Hallstein, and the first woman to hold the job.
• She was raised in Brussels and graduated from university in 1991 as a medical doctor.

Figure 10.3 Past presidents of the European Commission

• Walter Hallstein (1958-67): helped establish role of Commission in Community affairs, laid groundwork for common market and CAP and was involved in 1965 empty chair crisis
• Jean Rey (1967-70): won new powers for European Parliament and in office for launch of Economic and Monetary Union and European Political Cooperation
• Franco Maria Malfatti (1970-72): voluntarily resigned from office
• Sicco Mansholt (1972-73): interim president
• François-Xavier Ortoli (1973-77): president during first enlargement of EEC and global energy crisis, but more influential as economics and finance Commissioner (1977-81)
• Roy Jenkins (1977-81): oversaw creation of EMS and established the right of the Commission president to represent the Community at world economic summits
• Gaston Thorn (1981-85): Growth of Commission power and oversaw British budget rebate talks.
• Jacques Delors (1985-94): Remembered for completion of single market, plan for economic and monetary union, and negotiations leading to Maastricht.
• Jacques Santer (1995-99): Guided EU toward economic and monetary union, enlargement, and Common Foreign and Security Policy
• Romano Prodi (1999-2004): Oversaw launch of euro, enlargement negotiations, and draft European constitution, but widely regarded as disorganized and a poor communicator
• José Manuel Barroso (2004-14): The two terms saw much change and uncertainty.
• Jean-Claude Juncker (2014-19): A single term dominated by the need to respond to the migration crisis and Brexit.
• The 2014 appointment season saw the use for the first time of new rules introduced by Lisbon.
• The European Council proposed candidates using a qualified majority vote, and it had to be confirmed by a majority vote in the European Parliament.
• Parliament interpreted this to mean that the political group that won the most seats in the EP elections should automatically have its preferred candidate confirmed.
• When the conservative European People's Party (EPP) won a plurality of the seats, their candidate Juncker became the frontrunner and eventual winner.
• Candidates were nominated Spitzenkandidaten, or 'top candidates' who engaged in campaigning as well as TV debates prior to the EP elections.

The College of Commissioners

• The term 'the Commission' refers both to the entire European Commission with its staff, and to the College of Commissioners who head the institution.
• The College of Commissioners is the public face of the Commission.
• Functioning much like a cabinet of ministers, the College consists of commissioners responsible for each of the policy areas in which the EU is active.
• They are appointed for renewable five-year terms beginning six months after elections to the EP.
• Commissioners are chosen by the president from lists submitted by the governments of the member states, and a final draft list is submitted to the European Council, which must approve it by a qualified majority vote.
• Nominees must be vetted by the European Parliament.
• reservations about an individual nominee can be enough to force a withdrawal, even though the EP cannot accept or reject them individually, and can only accept or reject the College as a whole.
• At the beginning of each term, all commissioners are assigned policy portfolios at the prerogative of the president.

Table 10.1 Portfolios in the College of Commissioners

• Agriculture
• Budget and Administration
• Cohesion and Reforms
• Crisis Management
• Democracy and Demography
• Economy
• Economy that Works for People
• Energy
• Environment, Oceans and Fisheries
• Equality
• Europe Fit for the Digital Age
• European Green Deal
• Health and Food Safety
• High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (A Stronger Europe in the World)
• Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth
• Institutional Relations and Foresight
• Internal Market
• International Partnerships
• Jobs and Social Rights
• Justice
• Neighbourhood and Enlargement
• President
• Promoting our European Way of Life
• Trade
• Transport
• Values and Transparency
• Assignments will be influenced by the abilities, political skills and experience of individual commissioners, as well as lobbying by national leaders.
• Turnover is high, portfolios are often reorganized with a new president, and reassignments at the end of a term are common.
• There is often an internal hierarchy of portfolios, with the most powerful including those dealing with the budget, agriculture, trade, and the single market.

Illustration 10.2

• Members of the European Parliament can also remove the entire College through a motion of censure, although this has never happened.

• In January 1999, after charges of fraud, nepotism, and cronyism in the Commission, Parliament tried to dismiss the College, but they were unable to muster the necessary two-thirds majority.

• The College resigned dramatically after a report by a committee appointed to investigate the allegations.

• Individual commissioners can also be asked to resign from office by the president, or can be compulsorily retired by the European Court of Justice in cases of failure to do their job or of engaging in serious misconduct.

• Commissioners are expected to promote the interests of the EU and must agree 'neither to seek nor to take instructions from any Government or body'.

• After being nominated from the member state governments, their independence is helped by the fact that they cannot be removed mid-term by their home governments.

• Most commissioners have political reputations in their home states, and the pool of potential candidates has grown in size and quality as the Commission has become a more significant force in European politics. Cabinet Definition: The small group of assistants and advisers that works for a European commissioner; provides advice, information and services to the commissioners Directorate general Definition: A department within the Commission, headed by a director general that generates and oversees the implementation of laws and policies in particular areas

• Each commissioner is supported by a staff of assistants and advisers known as a cabinet (pronounced cabiney), headed by a chef de cabinet.

• Changes to the rules in 1999 required that cabinets should be more nationally diverse.

• The quality of the cabinet staff can have a close bearing on the performance of a commissioner, and the cabinets collectively have become a key influence on the operations of the Commission

• Members keep their commissioners informed, provide policy advice, act as a point of contact for lobbyists, and provide an essential link between commissioners and the DGs and services

• 55% of the staff of the Commission are women, and in 2017 the Commission adopted an Inclusion and Diversity Charter, setting the goal of at least 40% female representation in senior and middle management.

• The directorates-general (DGs) and services are the body of the EU civil service.

• The DGs are the equivalent of national government departments,

Table 10.2 Commission directorates-general and services

• Agriculture and Rural Development

• Budget

• Climate Action

• Communication

• Communication Networks, Content and Technology

• Competition

• Economic and Financial Affairs

• Education, Youth, Sport and Culture

• Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion

• Energy

• Environment

• European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations

• European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations

• Eurostat

• Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union European Anti-Fraud Office Definition: Investigates charges of fraud in relation to the EU budget, and cases of corruption and serious misconduct in the EU institutions.

• Most Commission staff work in Brussels, while several thousand work in Luxembourg and other parts of the EU.

• Permanent jobs in the Commission are highly sought after from thousands of applicants.

• Citizenship of an EU member state is required, and the Commission is required to ensure balanced representation by nationality at every level.

• All non-support staff applicants are expected to speak at least two languages. Comitology Defintion: A way in which decisions within the Commission are monitored and influenced by hundreds of committees comprised of multiple bodies.

• The Commission has its own internal bureaucracy in the form of the Secretariat-General, which provides technical services and advice to the Commission, and organizes and coordinates the work of the DGs and services.

• The position of president is held by a secretarygeneral who chairs the weekly meetings of the chefs de cabinet, and works to ensure that the Commission runs smoothly.

• The Treaty of Lisbon says that the task of the European Commission is to 'promote the general interest of the Union', to 'ensure the application of the Treaties', and to 'oversee the application of Union law'.

• The Commission has a monopoly over the generation of most new EU laws, and can also draw up proposals for new regulations and policy initiatives.

Powers of the European Commission

• Develops and makes proposals for new EU laws and policies.
• Oversees implementation of laws and policies through the member states.
• Develops and manages the EU budget.
• Represents the EU in international trade negotiations.
• Oversees process by which applications for membership of the EU are considered.
• Coordinates the EU's official development assistance and humanitarian aid
• A proposal for a law usually begins as a draft written by middle-ranking Eurocrats in the relevant DG and is then reviewed by multiple bodies and meetings
• Using a majority vote, the College can accept, reject, send back for redrafting, or defer a proposal, and if accepted, it is sent to the Council of Ministers and the EP for a decision.
• The Commission is responsible for making sure that a law is implemented by the member states
• This responsibility is carried out by the member state's own agencies due to restrictions preventing the Commisssion from managing this itself.
• The Commission relies on less formal means of gathering information with means such as whistleblowing by individuals, corporations and interest groups.
• The Commission has three options if a member state is slow: Issue a Letter of Formal Notice, then issue a Reasoned Opinion, and finally take them to the European Court of justice.
• At the same time, the Commission adds pressure by publicizing progress on implementation

Figure 10.5 The EU's legal tools

• Regulations are the most powerful of EU laws with immediate and total reach over all member states

• Directives act as goals that all member states are bound to, while allowing them to decide their own way of achieving these goals through changes to national law

• Decisions act like Directives with additional targeting toward specific members of a state's population, with often narrow goals that are more adminstrative.

• Reccomendations and Opinions have no force, and are intended to encourage the EU to develop various things such as regulations, directives or decisions

• Control over the purse strings is of the most potent of all political powers, and while the EU budget is relatively small (see Chapter 19), the reach of the Commission is extended by its role in drafting the budget, monitoring its progress, and making sure that all revenues are collected and funds are spent correctly..

Figure 10.6 Workflow of the European Commission

• Proposal of a new law/legislation is drafted by staff in a relevant DG

• The reviewed proposal/legislation is forwarded back to multiple DGs and Legal Services

• The same proposal is then reviewed at a meeting of the chefs de cabinet.

• A later review of the proposal is conducted at a meeting attended by all Commisioners.

• After meeting criteria, the proposal is sent to the Council of Ministers and European Parliament for a final ruling/decision.

• The Implemented legislation is reviewed and managed in the member states, all under the guidance of the European Commission.

• Since the start the beginning, the process of European Integration has centered around the member states, and due to this the role of the Commission defaulted due to member states' needs.

• Treaty of Rome: An EU agreement over exclusive Community competence to allow international relations and agreements.

• To assess the needs of European integration at the current period the EU must follow the guidance and framework presented in 3 categories.:

• It represents the EU in international trade negotiations.

• It processes applications for full or associate membership of the EU.

• It is the EU's coordinaor for official development assistance and humanitarian aid. Snapshot: Germany

• Germany joined the European Union in March 1957

• In Germany, 47% hold a positive view of the EU, 37% are neutral and 15% are negative.

• Germany's estimated area is 357,000 sq km

• Germany's capital city is Berlin

Discussion questions

• Is the European Commission better understood as an executive body, a bureaucracy or a combination of the two?
• Should the president of the Commission be directly elected by EU voters?
• Should Parliament have more powers over confirming or rejecting nominees to the College of Commissioners?

Key terms

• Cabinet
• Director-general
• New institutionalism
• Institution
• President of the Commission

Concepts

• Comitology
• Executive