European Commission

One-minute summary

The European Commission is the most misunderstood and misrepresented of the EU's institutions. Its job, essentially, is to draft proposals for new EU laws and to implement those laws once they have been agreed. It therefore doubles as a miniature European civil service and a stripped-down executive.

It is a small central body, with fewer employees than an average city council in the UK. It is made up of 25 Commissioners, one from each member state, and headed by a President (currently José Manuel Barroso). Its term of office is the same as that of the European Parliament.

The European Commission is often cited as an example of the democratic deficit in Europe because, critics claim, it is very powerful but has no democratic accountability. Both these claims are confused, however. Firstly, despite constant propaganda to the contrary, the Commission has no law-making powers at all: it can simply make proposals to Council and Parliament. Secondly, the line of democratic accountability is very clear: Commissioners are proposed by national governments and elected by the European Parliament, which also has the power to dismiss it. In fact, merely the threat of Parliament's censure has in the past been enough to force an entire Commission to resign. (This system is almost precisely analogous to the way UK ministers are appointed by the Prime Minister but can be dismissed by a vote of Parliament.)

• See also: Democracy in Europe

Labour views

• Richard Corbett MEP: A summary of the Commission's composition and makeup.

Other views

• Democracy in Europe: A heavily eurosceptic website which criticises the Commission and its actions.

Reference materials

• European Commission on itself: A straightforward introduction to the Commission from its own website.
• Wikipedia article on the Commission: Wikipedia is a user-edited online encyclopedia.
• BBC News: A report on the process by which the European Parliament cross-examines and elects Commissioners.

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