European Commission

1. European Commission Article 17 TEU; Articles 244-250 TFEU.

2. General Remarks Role: Promotes the general interest of the EU by proposing and enforcing legislation as well as by implementing policies and the EU budget; Members: A team or 'College' of Commissioners, 1 from each EU country; President: Jean-Claude Juncker; Year established: 1958; Location: Brussels (Belgium).

3. General Remarks • The Commission is genuinely supranational EU institution serving the general interest in completely independence. • Originally each single Community had its own High Authority. • By Article 9 of the Merger Treaty( 8 April 1965) the three Commissions merged into the single Commission of the European Communities.

4. General Remarks • On 17 November 1993 the Commission decided to call itself the „European Commission”. • This name was formally adopted by the Lisbon Treaty in Article 13 (1) TEU.

5. General Remarks • The European Commission is the EU's politically independent executive institution. • It is alone responsible for drawing up proposals for new European legislation, and it implements the decisions of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.

6. What does the Commission do? Article 17(1) TEU: • The Commission promotesthe general interest of the Union and take appropriate initiatives to that end; • It ensuresthe application of the Treaties, and of measures adopted by the institutions pursuant to them; • It overseesthe application of Union law under the control of the Court of Justice of the European Union;

7. What does the Commission do? Article 17(1) TEU: • It executes the budget and manage programmes; • It exercises coordinating, executive and management functions, as laid down in the Treaties; • With the exception of the CFSP, and other cases provided for in the Treaties, it ensures the Union's external representation; • It initiates the Union's annual and multiannual programming with a view to achieving interinstitutional agreements.

8. What does the Commission do? Article 17(2) TEU: • Union legislative acts may only be adopted on the basis of a Commission proposal, except where the Treaties provide otherwise. • Other acts shall be adopted on the basis of a Commission proposal where the Treaties so provide.

9. What does the Commission do? Proposes new laws: The Commission is the sole EU institution tabling laws for adoption by the Parliament and the Council that: • protect the interests of the EU and its citizens on issues that can't be dealt with effectively at national level; • get technical details right by consulting experts and the public.

10. What does the Commission do? Manages EU policies & allocates EU funding: • Sets EU spending priorities, together with the Council and Parliament. • Draws up annual budgets for approval by the Parliament and Council. • Supervises how the money is spent, under scrutiny by the Court of Auditors.

11. What does the Commission do? Enforces EU law: • As a „guardian of the Treaties” together with the Court of Justice, ensures that EU law is properly applied in all the Member States. • On the ground of a breach of law, it may bring an action before the CJEU against a Member State by way of an infringement action (Article 258TFEU).

12. What does the Commission do? Implementation of the Treaties: The Commission is responsible for ensuring the implementation of the Treaties and of measures which the institutions have adopted pursuant to the treaties.

13. What does the Commission do? Participation in decision – making: In some cases, the Commission has the power to take decisions with regard to the Union matters. That competence consists mainly of means whereby the Commission, as a guardian of Union law, assesses whether Member States have complied with their Treaty obligations and permits them appropriate cases to deviate from obligations or takes steps for the purpose of coordinating Member States’ policies.

14. What does the Commission do? Represents the EU internationally: • Speaks on behalf of all EU countries in international bodies, in particular in areas of trade policy and humanitarian aid. • Negotiates international agreements for the EU.

15. Composition Article 17(4) TEU: It consists of one national of each Member State, including its President and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy who is one of its Vice-Presidents.

16. Composition In carrying out its responsibilities, the Commission is completely independent. Without prejudice to Article 18(2), the members of the Commission shall neither seek nor take instructions from any Government or other institution, body, office or entity. They shall refrain from any action incompatible with their duties or the performance of their tasks.

17. Composition • The Commission consists of independent persons, committed only to the common good. • They must be national of the Member States. • The members of the Commission shall be chosen on the ground of their general competence and European commitment from persons whose independence is beyond doubt.

18. Composition Official duties: • The members are committed exclusively to the general interest of the EU. • The fulfilment of this duty is only possible if a member enjoys completely independence. • The members must give precedence to the EU common interest not only over national interest, but also over their personal interests.

19. Composition The Members of the Commission may not, during their term of office, engage in any other occupation, whether gainful or not. When entering upon their duties they shall give a solemn undertaking that, both during and after their term of office, they will respect the obligations arising therefrom and in particular their duty to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance, after they have ceased to hold office, of certain appointments or benefits.

20. Composition In the event of any breach of these obligations, the Court of Justice may, on application by the Council acting by a simple majority or the Commission, rule that the Member concerned be, according to the circumstances, either compulsorily retired in accordance with Article 247 or deprived of his right to a pension or other benefits in its stead.

21. Composition • Political leadership is provided by a team of 28 Commissioners (one from each EU country) – led by the Commission President, who decides who is responsible for which policy area. • The College of Commissioners is composed of the President of the Commission, its six Vice-Presidents, including the First Vice-President, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and 21 Commissioners, each responsible for a portfolio.

22. Composition Article 17(3) TEU: The Commission's term of office is five years.

23. Termination of office Termination of office may be caused by death; replacement after expiry of the regular mandate; after resignation or after compulsorily retirement.

24. Termination of office If any Member of the Commission no longer fulfils the conditions required for the performance of his duties or if he has been guilty of serious misconduct, the Court of Justice may, on application by the Council acting by a simple majority or the Commission, compulsorily retire him.

25. Composition The day-to-day running of Commission business is performed by its staff (lawyers, economists, etc.), organised into departments known as Directorates-General (DGs), each responsible for a specific policy area.

26. Composition Appointing the President: • The candidate is put forward by national leaders in the European Council, taking account of the results of the European Parliament elections. He or she needs the support of a majority of members of the European Parliament in order to be elected.

27. Composition Selecting the team: • The Presidential candidate selects potential Vice-Presidents and Commissioners based on suggestions from the EU countries. The list of nominees has to be approved by national leaders in the European Council.

28. Composition Selecting the team: Each nominee appears before the European Parliament to explain their vision and answer questions. Parliament then votes on whether to accept the nominees as a team. Finally, they are appointed by the European Council, by a qualified majority. • The current Commission's term of office runs until 31 October 2019.

29. Composition The President of the Commission shall: • lay down guidelines within which the Commission is to work; • decide on the internal organisation of the Commission, ensuring that it acts consistently, efficiently and as a collegiate body; • appoint Vice-Presidents, other than the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, from among the members of the Commission.

30. Composition • The President of the Commission is now entrusted with the Commission’s political leadership.

31. Composition A member of the Commission shall resign if the President so requests. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy shall resign, in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 18(1), if the President so requests.

32. Appointment of the Commission • The Commission is appointed by the European Council. • The appointment procedure is structured in three phases:

33. Appointment of the Commission 1. The European Council, acting by a QMV, proposes to the European Parliament the candidate for President of the Commission. The European parliament elects this candidate by majorityof its members. If the candidate is not succeed, the procedure will be reiterated with new candidate proposed by the European Council within one month.

34. Appointment of the Commission 2. In common accord with the President-elect the Council adopts the list of the candidates which proposes for the other seats in the Commission. The European parliament no exerts its right of consent regarding the Commission as the whole.

35. Appointment of the Commission 3. On the basis of the consent of the European parliament the Commission is appointed by the European Council by a QMV.

36. Censure by the European Parliament Article 17(8) TEU: The Commission, as a body, is responsible to the European Parliament. In accordance with Article 234 TFEU, the European Parliament may vote on a motion of censure of the Commission. If such a motion is carried, the members of the Commission shall resign as a body and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy shall resign from the duties that he carries out in the Commission.

37. Censure by the European Parliament Voting on a motion of a censure id the most far reaching instrument enabling the European Parliament to politically control the Commission’s activities. If it is successful, it obliges the Commission to resign as a body.

38. How does the Commission work? Strategic planning: • The President defines the policy direction for the Commission, which enables the Commissioners together to decide strategic objectives, and produce the annual work programme.

39. How does the Commission work? Collective decision making: Decisions are taken based on collective responsibility. All Commissioners are equal in the decision-making process and equally accountable for these decisions. They do not have any individual decision-making powers, except when authorized in certain situations.

40. How does the Commission work? Collective decision making: The Vice-Presidents act on behalf of the President and coordinate work in their area of responsibility, together with several Commissioners. Priority projects are defined to help ensure that the College works together in a close and flexible manner.

41. How does the Commission work? • In general, decisions are made by consensus, but votes can also take place. In this case, decisions are taken by simple majority, where every Commissioner has one vote. • The relevant Directorate-General (headed by a Director-General, answerable to the relevant Commissioner) then takes up the subject. This is usually done in the form of draft legislative proposals.

42. How does the Commission work? • These are then resubmitted to the Commissioners for adoption at their weekly meeting, after which they become official, and are sent to the Council and the Parliament for the next stage in the EU legislative process.

43. Decision-making procedure Article 250 TEU: • The Commission acts by a majority of its Members. It takes decisions collectively as a collegial body. In order to constitute a quorum, the presence of a majority of the Commission’s currently 28 Members is required. Thus, 15 Members have to agree with the final proposal.

44. Internal organisation • The President of the Commission decides on its internal organisation and lays down guidelines within which the Commission is to work. • He/she structures the responsibilities incumbent upon the Commission, allocates them among its Members and may reshuffle the allocation of those responsibilities during the Commission’s office.

45. Internal organisation • The Members of the Commission are to carry out the duties devolved upon them by the President under his/her authority. • The Commission’s administrative services consist of Directorates- General and equivalent departments, which are subdivided into directorates, each deal with a specific area of policy under the leadership of a Director-General.

46. Internal organisation • Other departments include the Secretariat General, the Legal Service and a number of offices. • The Commission’s seat is in Brussels, but number of its departments are established in Luxembourg. • Within more than 28,000 officials, the Commission constitutes the largest of the institutions.

47. Priorities 10 Commission priorities for 2015-19: • Jobs, growth and investment; • Digital single market; • Energy union and climate; • Internal market; • A deeper and fairer economic and monetary union;

48. Priorities • A balanced and progressive trade policy to harness globalisation; • Justice and fundamental rights; • Migration; • A stronger global actor; • Democratic change.