Presentation Commission

THE COMMISSION IN A NUTSHELL

The European Commission operates at the very heart of the European Union. It works in close partnership with the other European institutions and with the governments of the Member States. Although the Commission makes the proposals, all the major decisions on important legislation are taken by the ministers of the Member States in the Council of the European Union, in co-decision with the democratically elected European Parliament.
The Commission initiates Community policy and represents the general interest of the European Union.

The administrative structure of the Commission reflects the scope of its responsibilities within the European Union.
Because of the breadth of its responsibilities, the Commission is the biggest of the European institutions. It has a staff of about 24.000 people, roughly half of the total employed by the European institutions. But it is still relatively small, bearing in mind its responsibilities in the European Union. To put it into perspective, the administration of a medium-sized European city will often employ more people.

The Union has 20 official languages, and about one fifth of the Commission staff work in the translation and interpreting services. Citizens of the Union must have access to the texts adopted at EU level in their own language.

The Commission is run by a sort of Board, the College of Commissioners, ie at present 25 Commissioners appointed by the 25 member states. The Commissioners are appointed to a five year term of office, renewable, by the member states. The College of Commissioners is theoretically independent of the member states which appointed it.

It has been decided to locate the headquarters of the Commission in Brussels. Its 37 Directorates General, along with other bodies, operate essentially in Brussels, " capital " of Europe, and so often referred to in the media as the place where Union decisions are made. The "departments " of the Commission, some of which have become veritable mini-ministries, inhabit more than 70 buildings not only in Brussels but also in Luxemburg. EU research institutes make up the Joint Research Centre and they, like the some 25 Commission liaison offices, are to be found in the member states, while the EU also boasts almost 130 delegations worldwide.

Union Syndicale Brussels is an organisation well-versed in meeting the needs of multilingualism and multiculturalism unique to our environment. We have representatives in all the Community institutions, and our "delegations " in each of them deal with issues of concern to, and defence of the interests of staff in, their institution.

The Commission delegation has had to adapt, over the last 25 years, to the increasing complexity of its structures and methods, exacerbated by constant change, successive enlargements and more and more tasks entrusted to the institution. The Commission's role in making policy, particularly the part it plays by virtue of its right of initiative in defining the Staff Regulations which apply to staff of all the institutions, make the Commission delegation of Union Syndicale crucial to negotiations on the future of the European Public Service.

The Commission delegation of Union Syndicale is made up of 13 members of the Executive Committee elected directly by all Union Syndicale members working in the Commission, plus those elected from the Union Syndicale list in elections to the Brussels Staff Committee, plus Union Syndicale members appointed to other committees under the auspices of the Staff Committee.