European Commission

• European Commission

The Commission operates as a cabinet government, with 28 members of the Commission, known as "Commissioners". There is one member per member state, but members are bound by their oath of office to represent the general interest of the EU as a whole rather than their home state.
One of the 28 is the Commission President, proposed by the European Council, and elected by the European Parliament.
The Council of the European Union then nominates the other 27 members of the Commission in agreement with the nominated President, and the 28 members, as a single body, are then subject to a vote of approval by the European Parliament.
The group of 28 Commissioners is known as the "college". A new college is appointed every 5 years.

See "How the Commission is organised" The Commission is organised into 3 areas:

1. Directorates-General (DGs), which are departments responsible for different policy areas. DGs develop, implement and manage EU policy, law, and funding programmes. The British equivalent is the Civil Service.
2. Service departments, which deal with particular administrative issues.
3. Executive agencies manage programmes set up by the Commission.

Directorates-General

• Directorate-General (See box at bottom of page "Administration of the EC"). Also see EC page

Each DG is headed by a Director-Deneral, who in turn reports to a European Commissioner responsible for the corresponding policy area:

• The European Patent Office: EPO Directorates-General;
• The Secretariat of the European Parliament: Parliament Directorates-General.
• The General Secretariat of the Council of the EU: Council Directorates-General.

The Directorates-General (DGs) of the EC are divided into four groups:

Policy DGs

AGRI	Agriculture and Rural Development
CLIMA	Climate Action
CNCT	Communications Networks, Content and Technology
COMP	Competition
ECFIN	Economic and Financial Affairs
EAC	Education, Youth, Sport and Culture
EMPL	Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
ENER	Energy
ENV	Environment
FISMA	Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union
SANTE	Health and Food Safety
GROW	Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
JRC	Joint Research Centre
JUST	Justice and Consumers
MARE	Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
HOME	Migration and Home Affairs
MOVE	Mobility and Transport
REGIO	Regional and Urban Policy
RTD	Research and Innovation
TAXUD	Taxation and Customs Union

External Relations DGs

ECHO	European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations
DEVCO	International Cooperation and Development
NEAR	European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations
TRADE	Trade

General Service DGs

COMM	Communication
EUROSTAT	Eurostat

Internal Service DGs

BUDG	Budget
HR	Human Resources and Security
DIGIT	Informatics
SCIC	Interpretation
DGT	Translation

Executive Agencies

CHAFEA	Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency
EACEA	Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency
ERCEA	European Research Council Executive Agency
EASME	Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
INEA	Innovation and Networks Executive Agency
REA	Research Executive Agency

Service Departments

PMO	Paymaster's Office, aka Administration and Payment of Individual Entitlements
DPO	Data Protection Officer
OLAF	European Anti-Fraud Office
EPSO	European Personnel Selection Office
EPSC	European Political Strategy Centre
FPI	Foreign Policy Instruments
Link	Historical Archives Service
OIB	Infrastructure and Logistics in Brussels
OIL	Infrastructure and Logistics in Luxemburg
IAS	Internal Audit Service
IAS	Internal Audit Service
SJ	Legal Service
Link	Library and e-Resources Centre
OP	Publications Office
SG	Secretariat-General
SRSS	Structural Reform Support Service
ARTICLE 50 TASK FORCE	Taskforce on Article 5 negotiations with the United Kingdom. In charge of preparing and conducting the negotiations with the UK, taking into account the framework of its future relationship with the European Union.

Europe by Satellite

• http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/about/index.cfm?sitelang=en
• https://ec.europa.eu/avservices/ebs/whatsebs.cfm?sitelang=en
• Europe by Satellite

Articles

• Jun.12.2018: Commission protects AirBnB lobby paper as ‘commercial secret’. It is no surprise that online rental platform AirBnB and its allies would prefer to keep their controversial political demands to the European Commission private. But it is a disgrace to see the Commission oblige by rebranding these lobbying documents as ‘commercial secrets’ and denying public access. After 8 months of wrangling over their release, Corporate Europe Observatory can report the lobbying documents shows AirBnB and its like attacking a whole range of measures used by cities to protect affordable housing. ... the European Holiday Home Association (EHHA) – the trade association led by AirBnB ... Corporate Europe Observatory.

• Apr.11.2018: Financial regulators and the private sector: permanent revolving door at DG FISMA. Corporate Europe Observatory.

• Jan.10.2018: EU Commission uses Christmas period to grant authorisation for imports of GM soybeans. The EU Commission has granted six further authorisations for genetically engineered plants, including some controversial genetically engineered soybeans with triple herbicide resistance. (tags: Testbiotech, Dow, Bayer) GM Watch.

• Nov.13.2017: Corporate Europe Observatory Is the European Commission preparing a new privatisation push? Concerns have been aroused that a new wave of privatisation could be prepared after the European Commission asked KPMG to study the “operational and fiscal challenges” which state-owned enterprises place on the public purse. The contract, due to conclude at the end of this month, raises many questions. Corporate Europe Observatory.

• Jun.02.2017: The creeping privatisation of healthcare. The "public nature of healthcare provision in Europe has been challenged through a series of reforms that amount to what can best be described as the marketisation of health care", Dr Christoph Hermann. For private healthcare to be profitable for more than just the wealthiest minority, it still requires public funding. Despite all of this, the Commission’s enthusiasm for a free market in healthcare has not dampened. When Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis’ started office in Nov.2014, Politico reported that the Commissioner envisioned "a single market for health services" that mirrors the logic of a single market for energy. Corporate Europe Observatory.

• Oct.13.2015: "I Don’t Take My Mandate From the People", EU Commissioner Tells Anti-Poverty Campaigner. The EU's Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström has told a leading campaigner that she does not take her mandate “from the European people.” Her statement came in response to a question on the unpopular Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal between America and the EU, which is opposed by millions of European citizens. (Linkback: EU Referendum, European Union) Donna Rachel Edmunds, Breitbart.