Abstract
The European Commission is arguably the most powerful component of today’s European Union, yet little is understood about who actually comprises the Commission and how they get to Brussels. Scholars have thus far focused on piecemeal studies of backgrounds of Commissioners, legislative approaches to Commission recruitment, or spatial models of multilevel governance systems (among others). In contrast, this paper takes a comprehensive approach to understanding paths to the Commission. To support this approach, a large-N data set of both institutional and personal (i.e., biographies and career histories) data of all Commissioners appointed since 2010 is constructed. This data set is then used to analyze three hypotheses relating political, socioeconomic, and personal variables at the Commissioner and national level—attempting to answer the question, “Which type of Commissioner is likely to be appointed from X country?” All in all, this paper hopes to illuminate underlying, broad-level trends in Commissioner appointments and spur further quantitative—and predictive—research on paths to the Commission. Who serves in the Commission impacts not only Brussels, but the entire European Union.
Highlights
The European Commission is at the heart of European union
28 European Commissioners sit atop this pillar of Brussels—but they are appointed by member states in a relatively opaque process shielded from any direct electoral competition
82 % of less-influential member state appointees to the Commission had some degree of prior experience with the European Union or diplomacy in general—either direct (European Union-level office) or indirect (European Union-related or foreign affairs-related office in national government)
Summary
The European Commission is at the heart of European union. The Commission serves as the European Union’s executive branch of government, holding important powers, including legislative initiation, enforcement of European Union laws and policies, and even the mystical role of “Guardian of the Treaties” of European union. 28 European Commissioners sit atop this pillar of Brussels—but they are appointed by member states in a relatively opaque process shielded from any direct electoral competition. 28 European Commissioners sit atop this pillar of Brussels—but they are appointed by member states in a relatively opaque process shielded from any direct electoral competition. As Schmidt (2000) and others have demonstrated, the so-called Eurocrats running the Commission (the Commissioners themselves) are more than just figureheads: they control the largest executive branch of government in Europe. In terms of Commission appointments, variations in appointment processes or trends between more-influential, older member states and less-influential, newer member states (the majority of which are former Soviet republics) of the Union may exist. Does the Commission “capture” national politicians and keep them in Brussels for multiple terms, or is appointment to a Commission seat more fluid? And is there any difference between less- and more-influential member states?
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