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The European Commission (EC) is the executive branch of the European Union, responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the EU treaties and managing the day-to-day business of the EU. Exclusive The European Commission's war of words against pharma company AstraZeneca over COVID-19 virus vaccines has descended into farce after Brussels accidentally published an unredacted version of a disputed supply contract.. [14] Owing to the merger, the Rey Commission saw a temporary increase to 14 members—although subsequent Commissions were reduced back to nine, following the formula of one member for small states and two for larger states. [46] The members are proposed by their member state governments, one from each. After obtaining the approval of the College, the President appoints the Vice-Presidents from among its members. [20][21] With that enlargement, the College of Commissioners membership increased to thirteen under the Ortoli Commission (the United Kingdom as a large member was granted two Commissioners), which dealt with the enlarged community during economic and international instability at that time. However, they are bound to act independently â€“ free from other influences such as those governments which appointed them. Once legislation is passed by the Council and Parliament, it is the commission's responsibility to ensure it is implemented. They replace the previous committee mechanisms with two new arrangements, namely the advisory procedure and the examination procedure. Implementing powers, 1. Even though each member is nominated on the basis of the suggestions made by the national governments, one per state, they do not represent their state in the commission. The Commission then sends the EU agencies’ statement of estimates to Parliament and the Council and proposes the amount of the contribution for every EU body and the number of staff it considers it needs for the following financial year. [53][54] This monopoly has been challenged by some who claim the Parliament should also have the right, with most national parliaments holding the right in some respects. The commission's chief spokesperson is Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen who takes the midday press briefings, commonly known as the "Midday Presser". [80] However, following the global downturn, the press corps in Brussels shrunk by a third by 2010. Barring a few exceptions, the Commission acts by a majority of its members (Article 250 TFEU). Article 201 TFEU); Enforcing competition rules, not least by keeping State aid under review, in accordance with Article 108 TFEU. The Barroso Commission took office in late 2004 after being delayed by objections from the Parliament, which forced a reshuffle. Each covers a specific policy area such as agriculture or justice and citizens' rights or internal services such as human resources and translation and is headed by a director-general who is responsible to a commissioner. [67] Before the commission can assume office, the College as a whole must be approved by the Parliament. [3] The Commissioners are proposed by the Council of the European Union, on the basis of suggestions made by the national governments, and then appointed by the European Council after the approval of the European Parliament. Such a situation is unique in the world. p32. Also, acting on a proposal from the Commission and after consulting the European Parliament and the Court of Auditors, the Council determines the methods and procedure whereby the budget revenue is made available to the EU budget (Article 322(2) TFEU). During the Juncker presidency Selmayr has been described as "the most powerful EU chief of staff ever. [32] In response to the scandal, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) was created. Collective accountability. Authorising the Member States to take safeguard measures laid down in the Treaties, particularly during transitional periods (e.g. Court of Justice of the European Union Download . Click for more. It submits to the Council: b. That was the first time a College of Commissioners had been forced to resign en masse, and represented a shift of power towards the Parliament. THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 292 thereof, Whereas: She had not been considered a likely candidate (in general, the elected candidate is determined, according to the results of the European election, as winner of internal election into the dominant European party known as "spitzenkandidat"). The Commission has a role in managing Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). In accordance with Article 319 TFEU, Parliament has the right to grant discharge to the Commission. Analysis of current practice and proposals for tackling mismanagement, irregularities, and fraud. Recommendations for the draft broad guidelines for the Member States’ economic policies, and warnings if those policies are likely to be incompatible with the guidelines (Article 121(4) TFEU); Assessment proposals to enable the Council to determine whether a Member State has an excessive deficit (Article 126(6) TFEU); Recommendations on measures to be taken if a non-euro area Member State is in difficulties as regards its balance of payments, as provided for in Article 143 TFEU; Recommendations for the exchange rate between the single currency and other currencies and for general orientations for exchange-rate policy, as provided for in Article 219 TFEU; An assessment of national policy plans and presentation of country-specific draft recommendations falling under the European Semester. Automatically a Vice-President of the European Council declared a list of candidate-commissioners which has to be adopted by the of. 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