europen commission. tor at european union level

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EUROPEN COMMISSION. COLEGISLATOR AT

EUROPEAN UNION LEVEL

Summary

The Commission is an important institution of the Community institutional system,since it represents the Community interest compared to the national interest of each member

state. It is responsible for the way in which the Community interest prevails, when a member

state or The European Union Council takes a decision in Community objectives.

The Commission is the institution which - although composed of officials nominated bymember states - negotiates in favor of the Unions interests, with member states which are

trying, separately or in the Council, to advance their own interests. This is composed of

persons nominated by European Union Member States for a period of 5 years.

The European Commission is lead by a President and 2 Vice-Presidents assisted by a

general secretary. The president, as well asmembers of the Commission, issubject to approvalvote of the European Parliament. He is responsible for convening meetings and represents the

Commission in third party relations, including in front of the Council and the European

Parliament. The Commission should not be considered as a hierarchically subordinatefunctioning device to the EU Council, the Commission is a community institution with its own

political responsibility, its headquarters being in Brussels.The functioning of the European Commission is based on good fellowship, which

means that decisions are taken by a collective decision, its members being jointly responsible

for the measures taken.

The Commission is "the main initiator" in the European Union, as the Council cannot

deliberate on itself or jointly with the European Parliament except on the basis of a regulatory

proposals of itself, so the EU Council, alone or jointly with the European Parliament adopts

legislation based on proposals fromthe Commission.

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1. GENERAL ASPECTS

The Commission is an important institution of the Community institutional

system, since it represents the Community interest compared to the national interest of

each member state. It is responsible for the way in which the Community interest

prevails, when a member state or The European Union Council takes a decision in

Community objectives.

It is known as being the Community executive, as such it is "the engine thatleads community activities", and another expression that is commonly associated to the

name of the commission is the "guarantor of Treaties."

The commission, as well as the other basic institutions, is common to the threeEuropean Communities. The Brussels FusionTreaty from 1965 transforming the three

Committees (the CECO/CECA High Authority, the CEE Commission and the CEEA

Commission) in a single Commission. The regularization of the three Committees

appears in the 8-19 TCECO/CECA Art, the 155-163 TCEE Art. and the 124 - 135

TCEEA art.

In case ofthe European Commission the mergerwas more difficult than in the

case of the Council, because the three Commissions had different and independent

administrative infrastructure, unlike the Councils whose secretariats were common

even before their merger.

The European Commission1 is that the second community institution which, in

the C.E.C.A. Treaty system, was called "The High Authority".

The Commission should not be considered as a hierarchically subordinatefunctioning device to the EU Council, the Commission is a community institution with

its own political responsibility, its headquarters being in Brussels.

According to the 162nd Art of the Maastricht Treaty, the EuropeanCommission

has self-organization competence, expression of the principle of the autonomy of

communitarian institutions, which sets its interior conduct to ensure itself and its

services under the terms of the Treaty.

The Commission engaged its activity in so-called General Directions,

Services and Groups.

2. MEMBERSHIP OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

1The name European Commission was adopted only after the Maastricht Treaty on European

Union, before being used the phrase Commission

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The NisaTreaty supervises the appointment in the European Commission:

The European Council with a qualified majority decides the appointed of an

official which will be named president of the commission, the European Parliament

approving this appointment;

The EU Council together with the future President of the Commission

appoints commissioners on the proposals from the national governments;

The commissioners, together with their President, are subjected as a collegialdevice to the approval of the European Parliament;

The European Commission in its whole is appointed by the E.U Council,

from a qualified majority.The Commission is the institution which - although composed of officials

nominated by member states - negotiates in favor of the Unions interests, with member

states which are trying, separately or in the Council, to advance their own interests.

According to the 11th Art in the Brussels Treaty and the 157th Art TCE, the

commissioners must have nationality of the member states who nominate them. The

Lisbon Treaty complements this by saying: "Commission members are elected from

among nationals of member states according to a strictly equal rotation system between

the member states which is to reflect the demographic and geographic diversity of all

member states. This system is established by the European Council, acting

unanimously in accordance with 211th Art of the Treaty on the function of the

European Union.

According to the Fusion Treaty the mandate of Commission members was 4years and of Commission President was limited to 2 years, according to the Maastricht

Treaty, the candidates of member states are named for no more than 5 years, mandate

which can be renewed. Also the Presidents mandate is5 years.Presently, following the enlargement with the last wave of states, respectively

Romania and Bulgaria on January 1st 2007, the European Commission has now 27

commissioners2.As of November 1st 2014, the Commission is composed of a number of

members, including the President and High Representative of the Union for Foreign

Affairs and Security Policy, corresponding to two thirds of the member states, as long

as the European Council doesntdecided to alter this number, acting unanimously3.

2

Octavian Manolache -Community law, 4th Edition, All Beck Publishing House, Bucharest,2003, p.1163 Lisabon Treaty, Art. 9D

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Each commissioner has specific duties regarding one or more fields of activity.

The decisions taken by each commissioner, in his area of responsibilities areconsidered "Commission decisions" because it works as a collegial device.

According to the 10th Art in the Brussels Fusion Treaty, the European

Commission is composed of "commissioners appointed on basis of their general

competence and whose independence is beyond any doubt."

Independence of Commission members is its characteristic feature of its

composition, as such the treaties impose certain obligations on both member states and

commissioners. For this the commissioners have a number of privileges and

immunities such as immunity from jurisdiction for acts committed in carrying out their

mandate, are exempt from taxes and salary impositions and other financial rights

granted.During their mandate, commissioners cant be engaged in other activities, they

are prohibited, for example, being members of national parliaments or the European

Parliament.

If they violate their obligations, they may lose pension rights by a decision

from the Court of Justice, which can also dismiss commissioners.

Each member of the Commission has its own staff, called a cabinet. Chiefs of

Cabinet meet weekly to prepare the work of the Commission.

Commissioners mandate can seize eitherindividually orcollectively.Individual seize of the mandate is accomplished by:

Death;

Resignation;

They can be removed from CJUE at the request of the Commissionor the Council for committing grave errors.

Collective seize occurs in the following cases: Collective dismissal;

If the European Parliament adopts with a 2/3 majority a censure

motion, in which commission members are required to mass

resignation.

The European Commission is lead by a President and 2 Vice-Presidents

assisted by a general secretary.

a) The European Commission President

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The Commission President has an administrative and formal role. He is

responsible for convening meetings and represents the Commission in third partyrelations, including in front of the Council and the European Parliament.

The president, as well asmembers of the Commission, issubject to approval

vote of the European Parliament.

The Commission shall work under the political guidance of the President of the

Commission which is empowered to allocate portfolios between commissioners,

including their change during the mandate.

Members of the Commission shall exercise the functions assigned to them by

the President under his authority. In addition to the veto wright which comes from

being appointed, the President may request the resignation, after the approval of the

whole Commission College.Under the Lisbon Treaty, the Commission President has the following tasks:

defines the guidelines within which the Commission is to work; decides on the internal organization of the Commission to ensure coherence,

effectiveness and good fellowship of its actions;

appoints Vice-Presidents, others than the Unions High Representative for

Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, wrom within the Commission.

b) European Commission Vice-Presidents

They are appointed by the President, from among Commission commissioners.Vice-Presidents have to take the presidents place when circumstances requires it.

3. THE FUNCTIONING OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

The functioning of the European Commission is based on good fellowship,

which means that decisions are taken by a collective decision, its members being

jointly responsible for the measures taken. The principle of good fellowship inCommission decision was regarded as a guarantee of effectiveness of the

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Commissions activity at the Intergovernmental Conference that led to the adoption of

the Treaty on European Union4.There are 3 ways of making decisions:

a. Meetings. Decisions are made based on proposals from one or more of itsmembers, which were adopted by a majority. Meetings arent public and discussions

are confidential.

In the absence of a member of the Committee, the Chief of Cabinet may attend

the meeting and, at the initiative of the President, will present the views of absent

member.

b.By written procedure. The proposal text iscirculatedto all members. Anymember of the Commission may require, during the written procedure, for the proposal

to be discussed by sending the President a reasoned request to that effect. The proposalis considered adopted if no member of the Commission made any reserve, and this is

maintained until the deadline.c.By delegation. The Commission may authorize one or more of its members,

on behalf of it and under its responsibility, to take management or administrative

measures.

The C.J.C.Edecided that the delegation cannot be granted for the exercise ofdiscretion by the Commission, but only for its executive powers.

The Committees official working languages are English, French and German.Official documents, in their entirety, are translated and printed in the 23 official

languages, according to the 1st Art in the nr1 Regulation of the Council.

Thanks to the large number of problems which the Commission must cope

with, the commissioners specialize in fields, thus having specific roles. For each field,the commissioners write projects to present to the Commission, and after they are

adopted, they support them before the Council, ending with supervising of how these

are reinforced.

The Commission may resort to advisory committees of variable composition

mainly formed from experts with the role to assist in the development and

implementation of Community policy.

The Commission Procedure Rules also includes dispositions regarding the

preparation and implementation of the Commission decisions appointment of

members of the staff's own offices, the key role of Secretary General who assists the

President in preparation of actions and meetings, ensures implementation of

4 Nicoleta Elize Valcu - Institutional Community Law, Sitech Publishing House, Craiova,

2009, p. 171

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procedures and decisions as well as coordination, responsibility for official relations

with the other institutions.

4. EUROPEAN COMMISSION POWERS

a. Power of legislative initiative

The Commission is "the main initiator" in the European Union, as the Council

cannot deliberate on itself or jointly with the European Parliament except on the basis

of a regulatory proposals of itself, so the EU Council, alone or jointly with theEuropean Parliament adopts legislation based on proposals fromthe Commission, thisbeing considered the "favorable device of European integration"5

The Commission may withdraw its proposal6 if the Council has not issued

decision. In case of withdrawal of the proposal, this must be justified and is necessary

to inform the European Parliament whenever its consultation procedure is involved,

general situation in most community areas.

b. Executive powers

The Commission also has executive responsibility; respectively it may adopt

concrete administrative acts through which the primary or secondary right is applied,as it is appropriate the Commission adopts regulations, directives, decisions,

recommendations or notifications acting on its own regulatory power.

As an executive device, it is responsible for implementing the Community

budget and administration of protective causes in treaties andin secondary legislation.

According to the 203rd Art of TEC (272nd Art of TAM), the Commission has the

responsibility to prepare the budget proposal, which is to be submitted to the Council.

In the following procedure which involves both the Council and European Parliament,

the Commission must be consulted on a regular basis. Once the budget has been

adopted, the Commission must implement it on his own responsibility and within the

powers conferred by the 205 Art of TEC (274 th Art TAM), plus, the Commission must

5

Cornelia Lefter - Institutional Community Law, Economic Publishing House, Bucharest,2001, p. 1136 Under paragraph 2 of T.C.E, Art. 189 A

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submit annually as well as to the European Parliament and to the Council the financial

balance of the budget for the previous fiscal year, having to submit a balance sheetdescribing assets and liabilities of the Community.

Beside these tasks, according to the 156th Art of TEC (212th Art of TAM), the

Commission has the obligation of publishing the General Report of the Community,

which usually happens in mid-February of following the year.

c. Supervisory power

The European Commission has the capacity to monitor the abidance of quotas

of both primary and secondary rights in relation with the Community Institutions andmember states.

The Commission carries out its attribution of monitoring both the level of

Community institutions as well as the Member States. In concern to the Member States

the European Commission shall ensure the application of treaties, having the right to

inform Court of Justice concerning the states who do not apply the treaties.

Also the Committee is permanently interested in the way in which the

communitarian rights are achieved in member states, the latter being obliged to inform

it whenever changes occur in the national legislation, implementing Community law.It may order some investigations, respectively the taking of measures in case violations

of the treaty are established.

d. Power of representation

The Commission exerts representation functions of the EuropeanCommunities, both internationally as well as internally, which means that it has a

representative role in the EU before the Member States, third party countries and

international organizations. It also exercises its function of representation in

commercial negotiations, association or admittance of new members.

The European Commission must act so the Community interests take priority

over the interests of Member States. It appears as a neutral intermediary between

Member States on the one hand, and between them and the Union, on the other hand.

5. EUROPEAN COMMISSION RESPONSIBILITY

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The Commission, as a device, is accountable to the European Parliament.

If the European Parliament is informed of a motion of censure regarding the

Commissions activity, it will be able to debate it and may decide on it only after 3

days from its deposition, the Parliament deciding by open vote.

If the motion of censure is adopted by a qualified majority of 2/3, from a

quorum of half plus one, members of the Commission must resign collectively, and the

Minister of Foreign Affairs must resign from this position.

However, the Commission will continue to operate in the competence in which

it resigned. New Commission members will be appointed only during the remaining

mandate of the commission before it.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

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1. Dacian Cosmin Dragos European Union. Institutions. Mechanisms, 2nd Ed., All

Beck Publishing House, Bucharest, 2005;

2. Nicoleta Diaconu The EU's Institutional System, Lumina Lex Publishing House,

Bucharest, 2001;

3. Augustin Fuerea European Union Manual, 3 th Ed., revised and added, Univers

Law Publishing House, Bucharest, 2006;

4. Augustin Fuerea The European Union Institutions, Univers Law Publishing

House, Bucharest, 2002;

5. Gheorghe Iancu Constitutional Institutions of the European Union, Lumina Lex

Publishing House, Bucharest, 2007;6. Cornelia Lefter Institutional Community law, Economic Publishing House,

Bucharest, 2001;

7. Octavian Manolache Communnity Law, 3th Ed., All Beck Publishing Huose,

Bucharest, 2001;8. Tudorel Stefan, and Beatrice Andrean Grigoriu Community Law, C.H. Beck

Publishing House, Bucharest, 2007;

9. Tudorel Stefan Introduction to Community Law, CH Beck Publishing House,

Bucharest, 2006;10. Elise Nicoleta Valcu Institutional Community Law. University course, Sitech

Publishing House, Craiova, 2009;

11. Dan Vataman European and Euro-Atlantic Organizations, Lumina Lex

Publishing House, Bucharest, 2008.

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