The European Commission's influence on law making
I was prompted by a caller to the Farage show this morning to do some research into the powers of the European Commission. Said caller who wanted to "put him in his place" in respect of the reality enraged the pro-leave campaigner by saying that the EU Commission did not write EU law. That many of the laws are actually written by the British. Said broadcaster needed some time to recover and it was a while before the next caller which was on another subject :
"The Commission is important, but doesn’t run the EU
Claims that the EU is run by the European Commission, or that the Commission is the government of Europe, aren’t correct.
They exaggerate the power of the Commission, and understate the role of other institutions, which it’s generally correct to say debate, amend and pass EU laws.
They also ignore the influence of the EU’s member countries.
This may be because the European Union is a political system that borrows from many places without taking any one in particular as a model.
The EU has little in common with Whitehall or Westminster, making it difficult to describe in terms of the way government works in the UK.
The Commission has political leadership as well as administrative functions
The European Commission formally proposes new laws, oversees the budget, manages some policies, and represents the EU in trade agreements.
It also has more staff than other EU institutions. There are around 33,000 civil servants in the Commission, 68% of whom are on permanent contracts.
It is led by a 28-person ‘College’, which includes one Commissioner from each member country. This is headed by the Commission President, currently the former prime minister of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker.
The Commission President is nominated by the prime ministers and presidents of the EU member states. The President then allocates jobs to other Commissioners, who are nominated by their government.
The whole College must be approved by a majority vote in the European Parliament and among prime ministers and presidents.
But there are other EU bodies, equally or more important
The Commission’s size, influence, responsibilities and, political leadership explain why it’s often said to “run the EU”. But it is not the most important institution when it comes to making decisions.
That distinction belongs to the European Council, according to Professor Kassim. This brings together the top political leaders from the member states.
Crucially, the Commission has only a limited role in EU law-making. It can decide some less important rules, and in general it is the only institution that can propose new laws, but it doesn’t have the power to pass them on its own.
Professor Kassim says that many of the proposals that it brings forward have been requested by national political leaders. And there is no guarantee that a Commission proposal will become a law.
The authority to make law belongs to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.
The Parliament is directly elected by EU citizens every five years. The Council of the European Union, sometimes called the Council of Ministers, is where representatives of all 28 member countries negotiate.
These two institutions debate, amend and pass EU law. Each one has a veto.
Put differently, a Commission proposal only becomes an EU law when it attracts the support of two majorities. It needs both a majority in the Council, representing at least 55% of EU countries and 65% of the EU population, and a majority in the Parliament."
https://fullfact.org/europe/eu-facts...s-bureaucrats/