European Commission

The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive of the European Union. Alongside the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, it is one of the three main institutions governing the Union. Its primary roles are to propose and enact legislation, and to act as 'guardian of the treaties' which provide the legal basis for the EU. The role of the European Commission has many parallels with the executive body of a national government, but also differences (see below for details).

Related Topics:
Executive - European Union - European Parliament - Council of the European Union - Treaties

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Commission currently consists of 25 Commissioners, one from each member state of the EU, supported by an administrative body of several thousand European civil servants. Each Commissioner takes responsibility for a particular area of policy, and heads a department called a Directorate General. The Commission is headed by a President (from November 2004, José Manuel Durão Barroso of Portugal).

Related Topics:
Directorate General - President - José Manuel Durão Barroso - Portugal

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The term “the Commission” is generally used to refer both to the administrative body in its entirety, and to the team of Commissioners who lead it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Unlike the Council of the European Union, the Commission is intended to be a body independent of member states. Commissioners are therefore not permitted to take instructions from the government of the country that appointed them, but are supposed to represent the interests of the citizens of the EU as a whole.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~