The European Commission Flashcards
How are Commissioners appointed?
By the Council of Ministers and European Parliament
What is the role of the Commission?
Implementing and enforcing policy and enjoys substantial discretion as to how this is done
Power of the Commission
• Executive power
The Commission holds ‘executive power’ with its governmental powers
What did Guy Verhofstadt said about the Commission?
Former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, have suggested changing its name to the ‘European Government’
Power of the Commission
• Legislative initiative
The Commission initiates, and therefore shapes, policy. Other bodies do not have this legislative initiative. It remains closely involved in all discussions that take place while proposals are being debated by other bodies
What areas are the Commission responsible?
The Commission has responsibility for specific areas of foreign policy, especially trade and for negotiations with applicant states
How did the Lisbon Treaty strengthen the Commission’s power?
Since the Lisbon Treaty the Council of Ministers can no longer withdraw the Commission’s powers, and this was only theoretical. They are now granted directly by treaties
Limitation of the Commission
• Not elected
The Commission is not directly elected but is appointed by both the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament having a role in this
Limitation of the Commission
• Making proposals
In practice the Commission is mainly limited to making policy proposals
The power of the Council of Minister is greater than the Commission
The Council of Ministers makes most policy decisions and is where key inter-minsterial negotiations take place
Limitation of the Commission
• Negotiation
Much real negotiation goes on outside of all EU institutions, between ministers from the larger member states
The European Parliament has greater power than the Commission under the Lisbon Treaty
The European Parliament, since the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty, has become more powerful, particularly in EU legislation, and this is likely to curtail the power of the Commission
The position of the Commission has been eroded by
• Increasing power of the EP
The increasing power of the European Parliament, which can influence policy and sack Commissioners
The position of the Commission has been eroded by
• Separate structure
The establishment of a separate structure to oversee the Common Foreign and Security Policy
The position of the Commission has been eroded by
•Expansion
The growth of the EU, making the Commission, with 27 Commissioners, unwieldy
The Commission remains significant
• EP’s nuclear option
The European Parliament is reluctant to use its ‘nuclear option’ of sacking the Commissioners
The Commission remains significant
• Foreign policy
Its remaining foreign policy responsibilities have grown in importance, especially international trade and the environment
What is the Commission’s role in relation to the Council
It can be described as the servant of the Council of Ministers, carrying out their decisions.
The Commission is held accountable by
• The European Parliament
The European Parliament, which is directly democratically accountable, elects the President of the Commission
Example when Parliament reject a Commission
The European Parliament is able to reject or dismiss the whole Commission, such as over corruption allegations in 1999, and in practice individual commissioners may be reshuffled or withdrawn to prevent this.
The Commission is held accountable by
• Regular appearance in Parliament
Commissioners and the Commission President must appear regularly before the European Parliament to account for their actions and must, after each election, be scrutinised and approved as a team
The Commission is held accountable by
• Parliament’s rejection
The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers can reject Policy Initiatives from the Commission
Controversy of accountability
• Media
There is no direct accountability to the electorate, and a lack of public and media interest in their role
Controversy of accountability
• Individual commissioners
Individual commissioners cannot be dismissed or rejected by the EU Parliament
Controversy of accountability
• Staffing
There is an imbalance of resources whereby the commission has much higher staffing and funding than those tasked with holding them to account
Controversy of accountability
• Operate freely
Although commissioners must account for their actions, in practice they operate freely with their portfolio with little check on their work or decisions.
What is the administrative cost of the Commission
The European Commission accounts for half of the total spending on EU administration by employing around 33,600 people in 2009.
Limitation of Commission on laws
The Commission cannot foist laws upon EU member states
Example of Commission failed to propose law
The Commission spent eight years trying to get EU countries to agree to a law on cleaning up Europe’s contaminated soils, but eventually withdrew the bill in the face of blocking minority, which included the UK
MEPs and the president of the Commission
Since 2014, MEPs have chosen who gets to be president of the Commission
What is a ‘Spitzenkandidat’?
Major political groups now nominate a lead candidate, or ‘Spitzenkandidate’, for the President of the European Commission, who is then approved by the Parliament
Lack democratic accountability
The European Commission is an entirely appointed institution, not democratically elected, and it has the monopoly of proposing laws
It’s not a competition
There is no competition over who has political authority and sets the agenda at the European level
New legislation needs approve
New legislation proposed by the Commission still has to be agreed by the member states and passed by the European Parliament, which is directly elected by EU voters
