Q&A - The role of the European Commission

What are the Commission's responsibilities?

The EU Commission is first and foremost the guardian of the treaties and as such monitors compliance with EU law and its subsequent provisions. It is obliged to intervene in the event of infringements. At the same time, the EU Commission is the executive body of the EU. It ensures that the legal acts are adequately implemented in the Member States. Particularly in the first decades of European integration, it was also an "engine of integration" that played a significant role in determining the pace and direction of the EU's development. It also oversees the coordination of the EU's economic policy. The EU Commission has the sole right of initiative in the EU legislative process, i.e. only it can submit proposals for legislation at EU level. (1)

Why does the Commission have the sole right of initiative?

The Commission is the executive body of the European Union and has the sole right of initiative. The Commission's task is to draw up proposals for new European legislation and to ensure that these are implemented and that the European treaties are complied with. The Commission also manages the day-to-day business of the EU and safeguards the interests of the European Union. The reason for this monopoly on initiative is that the Commission, as a supranational body, is best placed to put forward balanced proposals in the common interest of the EU as a whole, free from national or regional interests. However, it can be requested by the European Parliament or the Council to submit a suitable proposal on a specific issue (indirect right of initiative).

What is the role of the Commission President and the individual Commissioners?

The European Commission consists of 27 Commissioners, with each Member State sending one Commissioner. Each Commissioner is responsible for a specific portfolio. Although the Commissioners are appointed by the Member States, they are independent of the national governments. The Commissioners do not represent their countries, but act in the interests of the European Union as a whole. Accordingly, no national government can dismiss an EU Commissioner. The Commission as a whole can only be voted out of office by the European Parliament if there is a vote of no confidence in it. So far, however, none of the seven motions of censure have been passed. However, the resulting public pressure led to the resignation of the Commission in 1999 under the then Commission President Jacques Santer.

The Commission is headed by the Commission President, who is elected by the European Council every five years. Before a new Commission can take up its work, Parliament must approve its composition. If the Parliament has objections, it can reject the Commission as a whole, but not individual Commissioners.

The composition of the EU Commission should be modelled on the political composition of Parliament. The principle of collegiality applies to decision-making and decision-making within the EU Commission, whereby the Commission President is the political leader and stands out as primus inter pares. Decisions are taken according to the majority principle, whereby an attempt is made to reach a consensus when taking decisions. (2)

How is the administrative organisation structured?

The Commission is organised into departments, the so-called Directorates-General (DGs), which are responsible for various policy areas. The Directorates-General are responsible for developing, implementing and managing EU strategies, legislation and funding programmes. Other departments (services) deal with administrative issues. In addition, there are a number of European agencies that perform specialised tasks. As part of the executive, they are affiliated to the Commission, but functionally independent of it.

What special position do the cabinets have?

The cabinets, which report directly to the respective Commissioner, are a powerful speciality. They consist of a small number of political confidants of the respective Commissioner and are authorised to issue instructions to the services and Directorates-General. Under the chairmanship of the Secretariat-General, the Cabinets prepare the draft resolutions for the weekly meeting of the EU Commission. The Heads of Cabinet also consult each week before the meeting of the EU Commission and record which decisions can be adopted by consensus (so-called A items) and which proposals require further discussion in the College of Commissioners (so-called B items). A decision by the EU Commission is usually based on a draft by the responsible Directorate-General, which has been agreed in advance with other Directorates-General involved. Accordingly, the draft is also coordinated between the Directorate-General and the Cabinet. Against this background, it becomes clear how much influence the cabinets have on European policy. (3)

What role do the Commission's work programmes have?

The European Commission's work programmes play a central role in the implementation of the EU's political agenda. The Commission regularly presents work programmes, each covering a period of one year. These programmes provide an overview of the political priorities and the specific measures that the Commission intends to take in a given period.

They serve as a roadmap for the Commission's political work and indicate which political initiatives and legislative proposals can be expected in the coming months. They also help to set the EU's political priorities and ensure that the various political players at EU level are working together towards the same goals. Different policy areas are usually considered in the work programmes, including economic, environmental, social, migration, security, digitalisation and others. The programmes are the result of political discussions and consultations within the EU institutions as well as with Member States and other stakeholders.

The work programmes are implemented in close cooperation with the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union to ensure that the policy measures receive the necessary support and approval. Overall, the European Commission's work programmes play a crucial role in shaping and implementing EU policy.

Each Directorate-General also draws up management plans as instruments for the strategic planning and implementation of its work. These plans serve to define the objectives, priorities and resource allocation of the respective Directorate-General. It is important to note that the specific content of the management plans may vary depending on the responsibilities and remit of each Directorate-General. These plans are usually drawn up and updated in the context of the EU's multiannual financial framework.

What is the timetable for the appointment of the next Commission President after the European elections?

The first informal meeting of the heads of state and government after the European elections will take place on 17.06.2024, followed by an official meeting of the European Council on 27. and 28.06.2024, at which the three most important posts will be allocated: The President of the Commission, the President of the European Council and the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. As a rule, the heads of state and government take party affiliation, regional representation and gender into account when filling the top posts. This means that the various nominations are interdependent and complicates the institutional negotiations.

After the 2019 European elections, the negotiations for the nomination of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took three days. This time, the nomination is expected to be possible more quickly.

At the first plenary session of the European Parliament from 16 to 19.07.2024, the Parliament must confirm the President of the Commission by an absolute majority. The Council then proposes the other Commissioners, one from each Member State. These Commissioners-designate must present themselves at the hearings before the relevant parliamentary committees. Once all hearings have been completed, the Parliament is asked to approve the Commission as a whole. With this approval, the new Commission will in turn be formally appointed by the European Council by qualified majority for its five-year term of office until the next elections in 2029.

What process do the individual commissioners have to go through before they are elected?

Once the Commissioners have been nominated by the Member States, they must answer questions in a hearing before the responsible parliamentary committee before being appointed and elected by the European Parliament.

The committees submit written questions to the Commissioners-designate prior to the hearings. The Commissioners-designate receive two joint questions drafted by the Conference of Committee Chairs. The first relates to their general competence, their European commitment and their personal independence. The second concerns the management of the portfolio and their co-operation with the Parliament. The committee responsible for the hearing formulates five policy-specific questions on its main priorities and legislative initiatives. In the case of joint committees, each of these committees may ask three questions. Sub-questions are not permitted. Associated committees only take part in the hearings, where they can ask oral questions. The curriculum vitae of the Commissioners-designate and their answers to the written questions are published on the Parliament's website prior to the hearings.

Each hearing itself lasts three hours. The candidate has 15 minutes to make a speech, followed by 25 questions from Members of Parliament and a five-minute closing speech. The first seven questions are asked by the coordinators of the different political groups in each committee, the rest are allocated to the political groups according to the D'Hondt method (maximum number method).

After the hearing, the committee coordinators meet to assess the suitability of the commissioner-designate in question. They must submit a letter of assessment within 24 hours stating whether they consider the candidate to be sufficiently qualified.

If there is no consensus on the approval or rejection of the candidate, the Coordinators of the Committee may decide to hold a vote. A Commissioner-designate must be supported by a two-thirds majority of the coordinators.

If this is not the case, the candidate may have to provide further information for up to an hour and a half or even face a new hearing to clarify the outstanding issues.

If a two-thirds majority is also not achieved in a second vote, the Chairman convenes all members of the committee to vote. In this case, a simple majority would be sufficient to give the candidate the green light.

Sometimes it can happen that a candidature is withdrawn following a hearing or that responsibilities are changed. For example, Alenka Bratu?ek (who was a member of the Commission for Energy) withdrew her candidature in 2014 following a negative assessment by the Parliament's Energy and Environment Committees. In 2019, the two candidates Rovana Plumb from Romania and László Trócsányi from Hungary were rejected by the responsible JURI Committee due to conflicts of interest.

Once the hearings have been completed, the Commissioners will be presented by the President of the Commission to the European Parliament in Strasbourg together with the programme. The presentation is followed by a debate and a vote. The President of the Commission needs the support of a majority of the votes cast to officially confirm his team.

Why are the Commissioners' hearings important occasions?

The hearings regularly form the first starting point for positions of the candidates. The committee coordinators have the opportunity to ask specific questions, which are answered by the candidates for the Commission posts, allowing their priorities and positions to be emphasised more clearly and thus giving an initial indication of how they will lead their responsible portfolio over the next five years. The hearings also serve to allow Commissioners to be judged on their answers to the questions during the legislative period. The European Parliament regularly uses the guidelines drawn up in the hearings to assess the work of the Commissioners and, if necessary, to hold them to account.

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How will the political guidelines for the next legislative period be set?

Every five years, at the beginning of a new Commission term, the Commission President defines the priority areas on which he wants to focus during this term. These areas are derived from the Council's strategic agenda and from discussions with the political groups in the European Parliament.

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1 Joos, Klemens. 2023. Convincing Political Stakeholders. 2nd ed. Weinheim: Wiley, p. 294

2 Ibid., p. 296

3 Ibid, p. 297

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