Composition of the European Commission

Composition of the European Commission and the Treaties of the European Union

Description of Composition of the European Commission provided by the European Union Commission: From the outset the Commission was always made up of two nationals of each of the most populated Member States and one national of each of the others. However, the composition of the Commission in an enlarged Europe was a central issue in all the debates. It was a key issue, since it involved deciding on the optimum number of Commissioners needed to guarantee the legitimacy, collective responsibility and efficiency of an institution whose purpose is to represent the general interest in complete independence. The concept of collective responsibility was crucial. Collective responsibility is specific to the Commission structure and means that positions adopted by the Commission reflect the views of the Commission as a whole, not those of individual members. With the prospect of future enlargements, it was feared that a large increase in the number of Commissioners would lead to nationalisation of their function to the detriment of collective responsibility. Conversely, should the number be limited, the fear was that some nationalities would not be represented within the Commission as such. The Treaty of Nice, a product of the 2000 Intergovernmental Conference, offered a provisional solution to this question by limiting the number of members to one Commissioner per Member State as from the date on which the 2004-09 Commission took up its duties. The European Commission is therefore currently made up of 25 Commissioners with the former Prime Minister of Portugal, José Manuel Barroso, as President. The future composition of the Commission was one of the most sensitive topics during the negotiations on the European Constitution. In the end the Constitution, which is currently being ratified, provides for the composition of the Commission to be reduced to two thirds of the number of Member States as from 2014. The Commissioners will be chosen by a rotation system in which all Member States have equal rights.

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• Types of Treaties
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Composition of the European Commission and the Treaties of the European Union

Description of Composition of the European Commission provided by the European Union Commission: From the outset the Commission was always made up of two nationals of each of the most populated Member States and one national of each of the others. However, the composition of the Commission in an enlarged Europe was a central issue in all the debates. It was a key issue, since it involved deciding on the optimum number of Commissioners needed to guarantee the legitimacy, collective responsibility and efficiency of an institution whose purpose is to represent the general interest in complete independence. The concept of collective responsibility was crucial. Collective responsibility is specific to the Commission structure and means that positions adopted by the Commission reflect the views of the Commission as a whole, not those of individual members. With the prospect of future enlargements, it was feared that a large increase in the number of Commissioners would lead to nationalisation of their function to the detriment of collective responsibility. Conversely, should the number be limited, the fear was that some nationalities would not be represented within the Commission as such. The Treaty of Nice, a product of the 2000 Intergovernmental Conference, offered a provisional solution to this question by limiting the number of members to one Commissioner per Member State as from the date on which the 2004-09 Commission took up its duties. The European Commission is therefore currently made up of 25 Commissioners with the former Prime Minister of Portugal, José Manuel Barroso, as President. The future composition of the Commission was one of the most sensitive topics during the negotiations on the European Constitution. In the end the Constitution, which is currently being ratified, provides for the composition of the Commission to be reduced to two thirds of the number of Member States as from 2014. The Commissioners will be chosen by a rotation system in which all Member States have equal rights.

Resources

See Also

Popular Treaties Topics

• Treaties of the United Nations (UN)
• Types of Treaties
• International Treaties
• Famous Treaties
• Law of Treaties
• Numbered Treaties