The European Commission is the driving force and executive body of the European Union’s government branches. The Commission proposes legislation, policies, and programs of action. It is responsible for implementing the decisions of Parliament and the Council. In this, the Commission is a body with powers of initiative, implementation, management and control. It is the guardian of the Treaties and the embodiment of the interests of the Community. The Commissioners, serving elected five year terms, are assisted by an administration made up of directorates-general and specialized departments.
EU Commission Websites
- Main Page for the European Commission A site of major news headlines, current prominent political legislation, and access to profiles.
- General Report on the Activities of the European Union A compulsory publication produced annually by the Secretariat General. Provides an overview of EU activities over a given year.
- Bulletin of the European Union A monthly publication of the activities of the Commission and other EU institutions.
- COMdocs Working documents of the Commission divided into four categories. Commission activities such as legislative proposals, communications with other institutions, and reports are recorded in these documents. Available in the Register of the European Commission (select COM in the drop-down “Type” list).
- C Documents Official documents falling under the Commission’s sole responsibly, relating to internal administration, comitology decisions, or decisions in certain areas of focus. (Search by selecting C in drop-down “Type” list.)
- SECdocs Documents designed for informative, background information prepared by the Commission’s Secretariat-General. More simply stated these documents cannot be classified as either C or COM series. (Search by selecting SEC in drop-down “Type” list.)
- Directorates-General and Services The Commission’s staff is organized into 36 departments, known as “Directorates-General” (DGs). Each DG is responsible for a particular policy area and is headed by a Director-General who is answerable to one of the commissioners. It is the DGs that actually devise and draft the Commission’s legislative proposals, but these proposals become official only when “adopted” by the College at its weekly meeting
- Press releases Press releases from the Commission, updated daily.
More information on European Commission documents (from Europa)