The European Commission : History, motivation and currrent debates
Résumé de l'exposé
If Jacques Delors, one of the most famous President of the European Commission (between 1985 and 1995), called the European Union as a UPO or Unidentified Political Object, it can be explained by the special characteristics of its architecture. The European Commission (EC) is undoubtedly one of the key institutions of the EU, one that makes of the Union an international organization very different from the others. In a lot of articles we can read that the EC has taken a very important decision, or that a politician of a member state criticized the influence of "Brussels". Because of its importance and its specificities, it's very interesting to try to analyze this very special institution, which is an original body if one considered its history, its powers and its composition. In May 1950, in his Declaration from the Salon de l'Horloge, Robert Schuman proposed to place France and West Germany's production of coal and steel under joint management. The institution that was created to manage this production (and the one of the 4 other members of the European Coal and Steel Community) was the High Authority. It consisted in 9 members, and sat in Luxembourg.
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Sommaire de l'exposé
The history of the Commission.
The model created by Monnet and Schuman.
The Treaties of Rome (1957).
The Commission of the European Communities.
The Commission: Guardian of the interests of the community.
The guardian of the treaties and executive power.
The power of legislative initiative.
Representation of the EC.
The heart of the European idea.
Composition of the Commission.
The organization of the Commission and the preeminence of the president.
What the Constitution would have changed.
The current debates.
A bureaucratic institution?
A political or a technocratic institution?
European or national interests?
Bibliography.
Extraits de l'exposé
[...] The balance of party representation (conservative, liberal, socialist especially before the Nice Treaty when large countries had 2 members, usually from the majority and minority) was kept to represent all the political parties and to work not with ideological goals but to promote the European interest. However, the idea seems now to be that the Commission should reflect the composition of the European Parliament as it plays a greater role in the European decision making process. This was indeed clearly stated in the Constitutional Treaty. The idea is too link the works of the Commission and of the Parliament. Thus, after the 2004 elections, the President of the Commission was a liberal, linked to the European People Party which is the largest party. [...]
[...] There's however a contradiction in the appointment process. As the governments are responsible for the choice of their ?national? Commissioner, they tend to nominate someone that will defend their views and interests The fact that large states (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain) were reluctant in accepting to lose one of their two commissioners symbolized this idea. Moreover, when the President distributes the portfolios within Commissioners, there are usually debates in member states to evaluate the ?importance? that the national Commissioner will have, considering that the Commissioner for Economic Affairs, Competition, Enlargement or Judicial Affairs will have more power (and represent more efficiently his country) than the Commissioner for Information Society, Humanitarian Aid or Multilingualism! [...]
[...] The European Commission is undoubtedly one of the key institutions of the EU, one that makes of the Union an international organization very different from the others. In a lot of articles we can read that the EC has taken a very important decision, or that a politician of a member state criticized the influence of ?Brussels?. Because of its importance and its specificities, it's very interesting to try to analyze this very special institution, which is an original body if one considered its history, its powers and its composition. [...]
[...] These three institutions influence the Commission both prior to and after the launch of programs: asking the Commission to act or bargaining to modify the Commission's propositions. The Council can only amend a text proposed by the Commission by a unanimity vote. For the 2nd and 3rd pillars, the role of the Commission is less developed as these policies are under intergovernmental management. Representation of the EC The European Commission undertakes an increasing number of external relations tasks. The European Commission is for instance represented as a member or observer in many international institutions. Its president is invited at each G8 summit. [...]
[...] It should not be considered as responsible for all the problems, which many politicians accused it of. The origins of most of the failures are indeed to be found in the intergovernmental process. The Commission remains years after its creation, an original body in the world of international institution, this is its strength as well as one of its weaknesses. bibliography Bache, Ian and Stephen George, Politics in the European Union, Oxford University Press, Oxford p. Cini, Michelle, The European Commission, Manchester University Press, Manchester p. Nugent, Neill, The European Commission, Palgrave, Hampshire p. [...]
Économie, administration & politique