Committee on Foreign Trade of the European Parliament. European Commission (EC)
- (European Commission, Commission of the European Communities) A single executive body created in 1967 from three separate executive bodies - the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Atomic Energy Community and ... ... Financial Dictionary
EUROPEAN COMMISSION- (European Commission) The Commission of the European Union, formerly the European Community, is more like the executive branch of government or service: it makes and implements policies, but does not make laws.… … Political science. Dictionary.
European Commission- Commission of the European Communities A single executive body created in 1967 from three separate executive bodies of the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Atomic Energy Community and the European Economic Community... ...
EUROPEAN COMMISSION- (Commission of the European Communities) one of the main bodies of the European Union (European Communities); consists of 20 members and a chairman, appointed by the 15 governments by common consent and with the approval of the European Parliament, is... ... Legal dictionary
EUROPEAN COMMISSION- (COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES) one of the main administrative bodies of the European Union (European Communities). Has broad powers: prepares proposals for the Council of Ministers of the EU (Council); monitors the implementation... ... Legal encyclopedia
EUROPEAN COMMISSION- (European Commission) The main executive body of the European Union (EU). Commission members are appointed by the governments of EU member countries, two people from each large country and one from each small country. The commission is responsible for... ... Economic dictionary
European Commission- — EN European Commission The European Union s administrative body, composed of twenty independent members appointed by the Member States for five year terms and vested with powers… … Technical Translator's Guide
European Commission- (English European Commission) the executive body of the European Union (EU), consisting of a chairman and 20 members appointed by the governments of EU member states by common consent and with the approval of the European Parliament. E.k. develops and... Encyclopedia of Law
European Commission- (European Commission) European Commission, history of the formation of the European Commission The main functions and powers of the EC, the composition of the European Commission, the building of the European Commission Berlaymont Contents Contents Section 1. Functions. Section 2. Composition of the European... ... Investor Encyclopedia
European Commission- Founded: 1951 Number of members: 27 President (2009): José Manuel Barroso (Portugal) Term: 5 years The European Commission (Commission of the European Communities) is the highest executive body of the European Union. Compound. The European Commission consists of 27 commissioners,... ... Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary by I. Mostitsky
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This is the highest collegial executive body of the European Union, whose commission consists of 28 members of the member countries, also called commissioners.
The commission is headed by the president, who is currently former Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker.
What does the European Commission do?
The Commission proposes new laws and, in addition, it monitors the implementation of various legal acts and, if violations are detected, can apply a variety of sanctions. The body also controls the EU budget, the management of funds and the creation of a network of representations outside the EU borders to carry out diplomatic functions. The Commission also plays a major role in the issue of trade relations. An example of this is the negotiations on the creation of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which implies a free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States.
The European Commission can make independent decisions in the areas of agriculture, transport, the internal market, competition and environmental protection.
What role does the Commission play within the structures of the European Union?
As stated above: the European Commission has the exclusive right of legislative initiative. Only she can officially introduce bills to the European Parliament. However, the Commission is unable to approve new laws. According to standard procedure, the Commission makes a proposal, which must be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council. The main direction of the proposed projects should be to protect the interests of the Union and its citizens, and not of individual countries or industries.
It must also be remembered that the Council of the European Union is completely different from the European Council. The European Council is an association of heads of government or state of all EU countries and the President of the European Commission. This is the authority that determines the main policies of the EU during summits. While the Council is an institution that consists of government ministers of all EU countries. It is the Council that meets regularly to make decisions and approve bills.
How many staff does the European Commission have?
The European Commission is a body that employs a larger number of officials than other European institutions.
Brussels has prepared a “document showing the distribution of its employees”: HTTP: //ec.europa.eu/civil_service/docs/hr_key_figures_2016.pdf. 2016 data shows that 32,966 people work for the European Commission.
The bulk of the activities of the European Commission are carried out in Brussels. About a third of all the body's employees are located here. This also explains the fact that the most represented nation among them is the Belgians. They make up about a sixth of the staff. Almost 10%, namely 3121 people, of the total number of employees work in the Department of International Cooperation and Development.
What is the main criticism? H3>
The European Commission is often criticized for being too liberal and at the same time for having a “democratic deficit”. The latter is argued by the fact that the members of the Commission are not elected, but are proposed by the government of his country. The President should also be appointed by the heads of state, not by the people (although after the 2014 European elections, the election results should reflect the result of international polls).
The European Commission has also been criticized for its numerous directives. This fragmented system of directorates-general often leads to protracted decision-making processes and also indicates that the directorates in some cases have extreme influence over the commissioners
The task of the European Commission is to coordinate the work of executive authorities of all EU countries, develop recommendations for the activities of the European Parliament, introduce legislative initiatives in order to bring the national legislation of EU member states into line with pan-European standards, monitor compliance by all 28 countries with common European standards, as well as the rights and human freedoms, conducting systematic consultations with all national governments to develop a unified economic (industrial, agricultural, fiscal, social, customs, currency, monetary, etc.), military, foreign, cultural policy.
The European Commission primarily contacts the ministers responsible for EU affairs in each of the governments of the 28 member states. The day-to-day administration of the EU is carried out within the framework. Comitology is a system of numerous committees created by the Council of Ministers of the European Commission, which monitors the implementation of adopted EU legislative decisions.
All decisions of the European Commission are of an advisory nature only; all controversial issues are settled at the level of national governments. In addition, the European Commission performs the EU's diplomatic functions abroad, having a network of representative offices (including in Moscow).
Article 155 (n.n. Art. 211) of the EU Treaty identifies four main powers of the European Commission.
Firstly, it ensures the implementation of the founding treaties, as well as other legal acts adopted by the EU institutions in pursuance and application of the latter.
Thirdly, the Commission has its own administrative power, and also participates in decision-making by other institutions, primarily the Council and Parliament. Fourthly, the Commission ensures the execution of decisions adopted by the Council within its competence, the execution of which is entrusted to the Commission.
28. European Commission: composition and organization of work.
The European Commission consists of 28 commissioners, according to the number of EU member countries. Each commissioner, like a minister of the national government, is responsible for a specific area of work. Each candidate for the European Commission is recommended by the government of his country, then he undergoes an interview with the President of the European Commission and is approved by the European Parliament.
In addition, the structure of the European Commission includes directorates general - these are analogues to government ministries. Directorates General are specialized and are responsible for implementing policies in various areas of EU competence.
The appointment of the Commission takes place according to a special procedure. The entire composition of the Commission, including the Chairperson, is appointed by the Council of the European Union. In this case, member states lose their veto power, since the appointment of the Commission will be approved by a qualified majority of the Council. The powers of the European Parliament to approve the Commission and its President are retained in full.
The Commission is a permanent institution of the Union. The main forms of its work are:
– full meetings;
– individual work of members of the Commission within the sphere of management under their jurisdiction;
– activities of working groups created by the Chairman from several commissioners to solve intersectoral problems;
– activities of directorates general and special services.
Meetings of the Commission, as a general rule, meet weekly, but can be convened by the Chairman at any time if necessary (Article 5 of the Verkhovna Rada).
The quorum for work and decision-making is a majority of the entire composition, i.e. currently 14 of 28 commissioners. At the same time, attendance at meetings is not only the right, but the responsibility of each member of the Commission. If, for good reason, the commissioner cannot participate in the meeting, he is obliged to inform the Chairman of the reasons for his absence. In this case, the commissioner may be replaced by the head of his office.
Taking into account the nature of the functions and powers of the Commission, the process of preparing and making decisions is carried out behind closed doors: ““Meetings of the Commission are not public. Debates are confidential.”
To make decisions at a meeting of the Commission, the support of a majority of its members is required. However, given the enormous scale of work on day-to-day management, other forms of decision-making have become widespread in the practice of the Commission, such as:
a) written procedure. In this case, the draft, which has been previously approved by the relevant Directorate General and, if necessary, by the Legal Service, is circulated to all members of the Commission with a deadline for comments.
The decision is considered adopted by the Commission if none of its members submitted their objections before the end of the established period;
b) internal delegation of authority. According to the internal regulations, the Commission, while retaining control powers, may grant the right to make individual decisions to commissioners and even general directors or officials subordinate to them (directors, heads of departments).
The European Commission is the main executive body of the European Union.
Until 2001, the number of the Commission was 20 people. Large states - Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain and France - appointed 2 commissioners each. Others - 1 each.
Since 2001, under the Treaty of Nice, each Member State has been represented on the Commission by one Commissioner appointed by that State. The appointment of each Commissioner is approved by all Member States.
The Lisbon Treaty provides for a reduction in the size of the Commission, but only from 2014. The number of the Commission will be reduced to 2/3 of the number of member countries of the European Union. From 27 countries, if the composition of the Union remains the same, 18 people will be represented in the Commission. Members of the Commission will be elected on the principle of equal rotation between the Member States, taking into account the demographic and geographical conditions of all states.
The procedure for forming the Commission is established as follows.
The candidacy of the Chairman of the Commission is proposed by the Council of the EU and elected by the European Parliament for a term of 2.5 years with the right of further re-election.
The President of the European Commission proposes a list of member countries of the Commission. The Council of the European Union votes on the approval of this list by qualified majority, guided only by its opinion of the “general competence” and “European commitment” of the persons proposed for the Commission. The appointment takes effect following a vote of confidence by the European Parliament. At the same time, Parliament cannot select any one candidate from the proposed composition of the Commission. If the commission does not receive a vote of confidence, a new composition is formed.
Subsequently, if the European Parliament passes a vote of no confidence (“censure resolution”), the Commission also resigns in its entirety.
Only citizens of Member States can be European Commissioners.
The commissioners' term of office is 4 years, and their powers can be renewed.
Commissioners swear allegiance to the European Union. They act in their personal capacity and not as representatives of their countries and undertake to be impartial, independent and to act in the general interests of the Union. “Member States must respect their independence and not attempt to influence them in the performance of their tasks” (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Art. 245). The Commission emphasizes that it is a non-political body with no links to political parties or the public, or to heads of state or government. Members of the commission cannot be removed on the initiative of their own or other governments.
Commissioners are required not only to be independent and impartial, but also to be scrupulous and cautious and to “refrain from any action inconsistent with their official duties.” They may not, during their term of office, engage in any other professional activity, with or without remuneration, and “must show integrity and scrupulousness in agreeing to occupy certain positions or receive benefits after ceasing to serve on the commission.”
Forced resignation of a member of the Commission is possible if he violates the general principles of the activities of the European Commission (for example, lobbying of the interests of a certain state is revealed) or the principles of the Union (for example, discrimination is revealed). The Court of Justice of the European Union may remove a member of the Commission from office if it concludes that he does not meet the requirements necessary to perform his duties or if he has committed serious misconduct.
Officials of the Commission (as well as other institutions of the Union) have privileges. They are exempt in Member States from income tax on salaries received in Union institutions and are instead subject to a special low-rate Union income tax; they have immunity from prosecution in Member States in connection with their activities in the performance of official duties.
Each Commissioner is responsible for a specific area of activity of the European Commission. The distribution of areas of activity is carried out by agreement between the members of the Commission with the leading role of the chairman.
All work of the Commission is carried out under the leadership of the Chairman. He also chairs committee meetings.
The functions of the commission are varied:
1) analytical consists of studying and elaborating specific political issues. “policy formulation” and the provision of Union policy proposals to other institutions is the task of the Commission;
2) the commission participates in legislative activities. It is endowed with the right of legislative initiative on issues of “current policy”, i.e. everyday life of the European Union. The Commission's proposals are submitted to the Council of the European Union;
3) the coordination function is carried out in the working relations of the Commission with other institutions and bodies of the Union and the governments of the EU Member States. The Commission is the transmission mechanism from the EU institutions to national governments; in addition, it mediates between states in order to implement decisions and coordinate national policies;
4) the executive (managerial) function is the main one for the Commission. It manages the Union's programs, executes the budget;
5) the control function is implemented through general supervision over the application of law by Union bodies and member states, through supervision of the implementation of Union policies by national governments, and control over the conscientious implementation of decisions taken by the Council of the EU.
Particular attention is paid to the area of competition policy. The Commission is authorized to oversee the actions of both the public and private sectors of national economies, the actions of governments when allocating subsidies, preferential loans, establishing customs restrictions or establishing special standards or requirements for imports, etc. If anyone violates the “rules of competitive play,” a fine will be imposed.
The European Commission also ensures that there are no violations of the Union's antimonopoly legislation, that the monopoly position is not abused, and that there is no excessive illegal concentration of capital. If violations are detected, the Commission may also impose a fine on the guilty party in this area or refer the case to the European Court of Justice;
6) the foreign policy function is related to the fact that the Commission is vested with the right to carry out foreign relations and prepare international agreements. It negotiates the text of such an agreement, but concludes it with the foreign party by the Council of the European Union, having held preliminary consultations in the European Parliament.
Until 2009, the EU Commissioner for External Relations was responsible for this area of activity. According to the Lisbon Treaty, this direction is headed by a new official - the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, who is a member of the Commission as Deputy Chairman of the Commission.
In general, the “executive”, power-administrative orientation in the activities of the Commission predominates.
Meetings of the European Commission are held behind closed doors.
Decisions on all issues are made by a simple majority. A “written procedure” is often used, which stipulates that if no objections are received from members of the Commission within a certain time, the document is considered accepted.
Contacts with committees are of great importance in preparing decisions of the Commission. In this regard, the following are provided: a committee advisory procedure, a committee management procedure, and a committee regulatory procedure.
The structural divisions of the Commission are general directorates (directorates) headed by the General Director, who reports to the corresponding member of the Commission. The General Directorate is divided into directorates, and these into sectors.
There are a number of specialized services under the Commission, incl. Legal Service, which advises on legal issues and represents the Commission in legal procedures, the Statistical Service, the Translation Service, etc., as well as the Advisory Committees.
The activities of the commissioners are also ensured by the auxiliary services of the Commission. Each member of the Commission has a staff of support staff - an office. The heads of cabinets of all members of the Commission coordinate their activities and take part in the preparation of meetings of the Commission.
Decisions on appointments within the specialized and auxiliary services are taken by the Commission itself, bearing in mind the principle that all Member States should have their share of posts.
The combined bureaucratic apparatus of the Commission is about 5,000 people.
The seat of the European Commission is Brussels.
3.5. Accounts Chamber
Under the Lisbon Treaty, the Court of Auditors (or Court of Auditors) is recognized as an institution of the European Union.
Its task is to control the financial activities of the European Union and its institutions. Fulfilling this task involves checking reports on the Union's expenses and income, monitoring financial transactions, and fighting against fraud and financial abuse. The Court of Auditors also assists the European Parliament and the Council in exercising their powers to control the execution of the budget.
The Court of Auditors consists of 27 members, based on the fact that it should have one representative from each member state. Auditors are subject to strict qualification requirements. Auditors are appointed for 6 years by decision of the Council after its consultations and the European Parliament and can be re-elected for a new term.
Members of the Accounts Chamber are completely independent in their activities both from the states of which they are citizens and from the institutions of the European Union. During their term of office, members of the Accounts Chamber have no right to engage in any other activities, paid or unpaid.
Auditors are subject to the privileges and immunities applicable to judges of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
A member of the Accounts Chamber may be removed from office based on a decision of the Court.
Its chairman is elected from the composition of the Accounts Chamber. His term of office is 3 years, after which he can be re-elected again. His responsibility is to coordinate the activities of the auditors. He also represents the Accounts Chamber in contacts with European Union institutions and international organizations.
Each auditor is assigned a specific area of work. Auditors are united in audit groups, which also oversee certain areas of work: control of the expenditure of budget funds, control of the expenditure of funds, control of the expenditure of funds within the framework of international programs, control of budget revenues.
The Court of Accounts checks, insofar as it concerns the budgetary funds of the European Union, the correctness of accounting documents, the legality and correctness of financial transactions, financial reports of all institutions and bodies of the Union, except for those whose constituent documents indicate the impossibility of such verification. The Accounts Chamber has the right to conduct inspections both directly at the inspected institutions, bodies and institutions, and to receive any necessary information upon its requests. In Member States, the audit must be carried out in cooperation with national audit authorities.
The duty of the Accounts Chamber is to compile an annual report on the results of the financial year, which must contain materials from all inspections carried out and information about any violations identified. the report is sent to other institutes of the Union and published in the Official Journal along with the institutes’ responses to the auditors’ observations and conclusions.
Ombudsman
The European Ombudsman is elected by the European Parliament after each election for his term of office, and after the end of his term of office he can be reappointed.
The Ombudsman is completely independent in the performance of his duties. In the performance of his duties, he shall not seek or receive instructions from any government, institute, authority, office or organization. The Ombudsman may not engage in any other activity during his term of office, whether paid or not.
He may be dismissed from office by the Court at the request of the European Parliament if he fails to fulfill his duties or is guilty of serious misconduct.
The Ombudsman has the power to receive complaints from any citizen of the Union or any natural or legal person domiciled or domiciled in a Member State regarding mismanagement by EU institutions, agencies and bodies (excluding the judiciary). It considers such complaints and responds to them. If he finds grounds in the application, he makes a request to the concerned institute, body, office or institution, which must communicate its point of view on the matter within 3 months.
The Ombudsman then forwards the information to the European Parliament and the institution concerned. The person who filed the complaint must also be informed of the results of the investigation.
The Ombudsman or the European Parliament cannot decide on specific compensation for damages to the injured person. But this is understood to have to be done by the institution, agency or body concerned whose duty to pay damages has been established by the Ombudsman's investigation.
The Ombudsman submits an annual report to the European Parliament on the results of its investigations.