European Commission

Summary
The European Commission is an institution of the European Union that is responsible for the drafting of Regulations & Directives, implementation of Decisions, managing the day to day business of the European Union and ensuring compliance with the European Treaties by the member states and their national governments.

Members of the Commissions are nominated by their national governments in the Council of the European Union with their portfolios assigned by the President of the European Commission (who is themselves nominated by the European Council and confirmed by the European Parliament) before being vetted by the European Parliament.

The Commission is the only European institution holding the right to initiative, that is to say the ability to propose legislation. It is split into the College of Commissioners, the 27 Commissioners who form a European Cabinet, and more broadly the European Commission which covers the Directorates-General (departments) and their 37,000 employees who form the European civil service. The civil service is itself headed up by the Secretary-General of the European Commission who since 2023 has been Sabine Weyand.

2019-2024 Composition
From 2019 to 2024 the European Commission had the following composition;
 * President of the European Commission - Manfred Weber
 * First Vice-President and European Commissioner for Justice, Charter of Fundamental Rights, Rule of Law and Human Resources - Frans Timmermans
 * High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy - Michel Barnier
 * Vice-President and European Commissioner for the Security Union - Dalia Grybauskaitė
 * Vice-President and European Commissioner for the Budget and Taxation - Jyrki Katainen
 * Vice-President and European Commissioner for the Digital Single Market and the Digital Economy - Andrus Ansip
 * Vice-President and European Commissioner for Competition, Consumers and the Internal Market - Margrethe Vestager
 * Vice-President and European Commissioner for Trade and Customs - Cecilia Malmström
 * Vice-President and European Commissioner for the Euro - Enzo Moavero Milanesi
 * European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Safety - Phil Hogan
 * European Commissioner for Regional Policy and Rural Development - Kris Peeters
 * European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation - Johannes Hahn
 * European Commissioner for the Energy Union - Maroš Šefčovič
 * European Commissioner for the Environment and Climate Action - Christos Stylianides
 * European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship - Dimitris Avramopoulos
 * European Commissioner for Education, Culture and Youth - Corina Cretu
 * European Commissioner for Health and Sport - Beata Szydlo
 * European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development - Ildiko Pelczne Gall
 * European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management - Kristalina Georgieva
 * European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries - Karmenu Vella
 * European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility - Viviane Reding
 * European Commissioner for Transport - Violeta Bulc
 * European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations - Marija Pejčinović Burić
 * European Commissioner for Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs - Maria Manuel Laeitão Marques
 * European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs - Valdis Dombrovskis
 * European Commissioner for Growth, Investment and Competitiveness - Vera Jourova
 * European Commissioner for Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union - Nadia Calviño

2024-2029 Composition

 * President of the European Commission - Leo Varadkar
 * First Vice-President and European Commissioner for Justice, Charter of Fundamental Rights, Rule of Law and Human Resources - Nathalie Loiseau
 * High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy -
 * Vice-President and European Commissioner for the Security Union -
 * Vice-President and European Commissioner for the Budget and Taxation - Xavier Bettel
 * Vice-President and European Commissioner for the Digital Single Market and the Digital Economy - Julia Reda
 * Vice-President and European Commissioner for Competition, Consumers and the Internal Market -
 * Vice-President and European Commissioner for Trade and Customs -
 * Vice-President and European Commissioner for the Euro - Nadia Calviño
 * European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Safety - Esther de Lange
 * European Commissioner for Regional Policy and Rural Development - Rafał Trzaskowski
 * European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation -
 * European Commissioner for the Energy Union -
 * European Commissioner for the Environment and Climate Action - Isabella Lövin
 * European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship -
 * European Commissioner for Education, Culture and Youth - Nicolas Barnier
 * European Commissioner for Health and Sport -
 * European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development -
 * European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management -
 * European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries -
 * European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility -
 * European Commissioner for Transport -
 * European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations - Marija Pejčinović Burić
 * European Commissioner for Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs -
 * European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs -
 * European Commissioner for Growth, Investment and Competitiveness -
 * European Commissioner for Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union -

Legislation
In its role as the initiator of legislation, being the sole body with the right to legislative initiative, the Commission has proposed a number of key pieces of legislation in the form of Directives and Regulations. The Commission has also used the Decisions mechanism to enforce justice across the European Union.

See Also: A list of all binding European Union Regulations, Directives and Decisions.