Composition
Theeuropean Commission consists of 00 members, one for each Member
State, which means that 00 commissioners (with various functions) are cur
rently active in the Commission (Article 00(0) TEU). Following a decision of
the European Council, the provision in Article 00(0) TEU to reduce the size
of the Commission to two thirds of the number of Member States as from
0 November 0000 was not activated.
The Commission is led by a president, who has a strong position within
the Commission. The president is no longer merely ‘first among equals’ but
enjoys a prominent position in that they lay down guidelines within which
the Commission is to work and also decides on the internal organisation of
the Commission (Article 00(0)(a) and (b) TEU). The president thus has both
the authority to issue guidelines and organisational control. Endowed with
these powers, the president is responsible for ensuring that the action taken
by the Commission is consistent and efficient, and complies with the princi
ple of collegiality, which is reflected in particular by the fact that decisions
are taken as a collegiate body (Article 000(0) TFEU). The president struc
tures and allocates the responsibilities incumbent upon the Commission
among its members, and may reshuffle the allocation of those responsibili
ties during the Commission’s term of office (Article 000 TFEU). The president
appoints the executive vice-presidents and the other vice-presidents, with
the exception of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs
and Security Policy, who is already an ex officio vice-president of the Com
mission. Moreover, it is expressly provided that a member of the Commis
sion must resign if the president so requests (second subparagraph of Ar
ticle 00(0) TEU). Finally, the president’s prominent position is also reflected
by their right to be heard regarding the selection of other members of the
Commission and by their membership of the European Council. Since De
cember 0000, the European Commission has for the first time been led by a
female president, Ursula von der Leyen.
Under the leadership of a vice-president, there are six teams of commis
sioners whose task, regardless of the principle of collegiality, is to monitor
and advance the work on the top political priorities:
■ a European Green Deal, under the responsibility of Executive Vice
President Frans Timmermans;
■ a Europe fit for the digital age, under the responsibility of Executive
Vice-President Margrethe Vestager;■ an economy that works for people, under the responsibility of Executive
Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis;
■ a stronger Europe in the world, under the responsibility of High
Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borell
Fontelles;
■ promoting the European way of life, under the responsibility of Vice
President Margaritis Schinas;
■ a new push for European democracy, under the responsibility of Vice
President Věra Jourová.