Lecture 3: Interactions between EU institutions
The European Commission and the European Court of Justice
The European Commission
Functioning:
● The Commission has the right of initiative
● Council reacts
● Parliament has the possibility to amend or reject the
proposal of the Council.
First reading agreements
Consequence of the long process is that even before the
proposal is brought to attention, it has already been sent informally to the most important actors to
prevent a long procedure. The Parliament and Council are informally talking about the proposal, this
can result in a first reading agreement, after the first reading everything is already decided, so, again
no long procedure. These informal meetings are called trialogues.
The downside of the trialogue meetings is that it is less transparent, behind closed doors, and it only
includes a few participants from each institution.
- A major downside can even be that although the procedure is fast, if the new legislation is a
wrongly stated policy, it can take many years to undo.
Lisbon Treaty (2009)
● Extension of the ordinary legislative procedure
- More work for EP
- More informal agreements in trialogues between Council and EP to cope
- Less transparent decision-making
- EP as a ‘normal parliament’
Composition of the European Commission
● 27 commissioners to represent the interests of the EU
● EC appoints all Commissioners
● Vote of approval of the entire Commission by EP in
- Even if one commissioner is up for debate on something, he can’t be fired, if so, the
whole commission would be fired.
, What is it?
● A core executive
- The college of commissioners: each has a portfolio
- Principle of collegiality
- Commissioners assisted by Cabinets
- Commissioner’s Cabinets: link with DGs
● A bureaucracy
- DGS = ‘EU ministries’
- Total staff around 33000
- Competitively recruited staff and seconded officials from national governments
● With various functions
- Agenda setting role
- Right of initiative, can propose new legislation.
- Develops and proposes new policies and legislation under the ordinary
legislative procedure (Exclusive right of initiative).
- Leads coordination of national economic policies
- Also has its own legislation. Exclusive competencies on competition policy
- External negotiator
- Negotiates enlargement
- Negotiates and manages trade agreements
- Guardian of the treaties/acquis
- When necessary by taking EU member states to the European Court of
Justice
- Guards implementation of EU legislation and treaties comitology p170
- Makes scoreboards related to various EU objectives
Development of the European Commission
Normal executive as The Commission being a government
● Increasing role of the President of the Commission
- Reject candidates nominated by national governments
- Final say on portfolios
→ Triggered by spitzenkandidaten procedure
Spitzenkandidaten procedure
● Selection of President of the Commission via EP elections
● Every party family nominated ‘spitzenkandidaten’
● Biggest party → spitzenkandidaten would get job
● Results:
- Election Jean-Claude Juncker
- 2019: no election Manfred Weber, European Council appoints Ursula von der Leyen
The European Commission and the European Court of Justice
The European Commission
Functioning:
● The Commission has the right of initiative
● Council reacts
● Parliament has the possibility to amend or reject the
proposal of the Council.
First reading agreements
Consequence of the long process is that even before the
proposal is brought to attention, it has already been sent informally to the most important actors to
prevent a long procedure. The Parliament and Council are informally talking about the proposal, this
can result in a first reading agreement, after the first reading everything is already decided, so, again
no long procedure. These informal meetings are called trialogues.
The downside of the trialogue meetings is that it is less transparent, behind closed doors, and it only
includes a few participants from each institution.
- A major downside can even be that although the procedure is fast, if the new legislation is a
wrongly stated policy, it can take many years to undo.
Lisbon Treaty (2009)
● Extension of the ordinary legislative procedure
- More work for EP
- More informal agreements in trialogues between Council and EP to cope
- Less transparent decision-making
- EP as a ‘normal parliament’
Composition of the European Commission
● 27 commissioners to represent the interests of the EU
● EC appoints all Commissioners
● Vote of approval of the entire Commission by EP in
- Even if one commissioner is up for debate on something, he can’t be fired, if so, the
whole commission would be fired.
, What is it?
● A core executive
- The college of commissioners: each has a portfolio
- Principle of collegiality
- Commissioners assisted by Cabinets
- Commissioner’s Cabinets: link with DGs
● A bureaucracy
- DGS = ‘EU ministries’
- Total staff around 33000
- Competitively recruited staff and seconded officials from national governments
● With various functions
- Agenda setting role
- Right of initiative, can propose new legislation.
- Develops and proposes new policies and legislation under the ordinary
legislative procedure (Exclusive right of initiative).
- Leads coordination of national economic policies
- Also has its own legislation. Exclusive competencies on competition policy
- External negotiator
- Negotiates enlargement
- Negotiates and manages trade agreements
- Guardian of the treaties/acquis
- When necessary by taking EU member states to the European Court of
Justice
- Guards implementation of EU legislation and treaties comitology p170
- Makes scoreboards related to various EU objectives
Development of the European Commission
Normal executive as The Commission being a government
● Increasing role of the President of the Commission
- Reject candidates nominated by national governments
- Final say on portfolios
→ Triggered by spitzenkandidaten procedure
Spitzenkandidaten procedure
● Selection of President of the Commission via EP elections
● Every party family nominated ‘spitzenkandidaten’
● Biggest party → spitzenkandidaten would get job
● Results:
- Election Jean-Claude Juncker
- 2019: no election Manfred Weber, European Council appoints Ursula von der Leyen
