Rules of procedure of the European Commission

SUMMARY OF:

European Commission — rules of procedure

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE?

Article 249 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union provides for the European Commission to adopt its rules of procedure to ensure that both it and its departments operate.

KEY POINTS

The Rules of Procedure contain provisions on the organisation of the Commission (Chapter I), the role of the departments and they way they work together (Chapter II) and provisions on deputising and business continuity (Chapter III).

Organisation of the Commission

CollegialityThe Commission is a collegiate body. It acts collectively. The Members of the Commission have an equal say in decision-making and have collective responsibility for all decisions taken by the Commission.
President of the CommissionThe President of the Commission sets out the political guidelines for the Commission. The president represents the Commission, decides on its internal organisation and assigns responsibilities (portfolios) to the Members of the Commission. Responsibilities may change in the course of the 5-year mandate of the Commission. The Commission’s secretary-general assists the president to achieve the objectives set by the Commission.
The president appoints all the vice-presidents except the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and may also set up groups of Commissioners with special mandates.

4 types of internal decision-making procedures

Oral procedure: the Commission takes decisions — mostly of major political or economic importance — during its ordinary or extra-ordinary meetings.
Written procedure: decisions are adopted when Members of the Commission do not express reservations or request changes to a draft act put at their disposal within a predetermined time limit.
Empowerment procedure: the Commission empowers one or more Commissioners to take management or administrative measures on its behalf.
Delegation procedure: the Commission delegates the power to adopt certain management or administrative measures on its behalf to directors-general or heads of service.

Commission departments

The Commission’s directorates-general and equivalent departments prepare and implement the Commission’s tasks. They put the Commission’s policy priorities and the Commission president’s political guidelines into action. In principle, the directorates-general and equivalent departments are subdivided into directorates that are themselves subdivided into units.
Close cooperation and efficient coordination between the Directorates-General and equivalent departments are essential to ensure the effectiveness of the Commission’s action. The department responsible for preparing an initiative of the Commission consults the other departments concerned by the envisaged initiative.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Rules of procedure of the Commission (OJ L 308, 8.12.2000, pp. 26-34)

Successive amendments to the rules of procedure have been incorporated into the original document. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.