
The
European Commission is one of the 7 institutions of the EU. It
has a quasi-exclusive right to propose EU legislation, implements the EU's
decisions and policies, manages the EU budget and is often referred to as the
‘Guardian of the Treaties'
The
Commission operates in a manner similar to that of a cabinet government having
collective responsibility with 27 Members (informally known as Commissioners),
one from each EU Member State, appointed for a 5-year term
They
do not represent their country of origin and are prohibited from seeking or
taking instructions from any Government or other institution, body, office or
entity
The
European Parliament may vote on a motion of censure of the Commission. If such
a motion is carried out, the members of the Commission shall resign as a body
The
current President of the Commission is the former Prime Minister of Portugal,
José Manuel Durão Barroso, who is currently serving his second term in office
The
European Commission operates primarily from the Berlaymont building and various
other buildings in Brussels and is divided into departments known as Directorate
Generals (DGs) and Services
Each
DG covers a specific policy area or service such as trade or environment, and
is headed by a Director-General who reports to a Commissioner
There
are 43 DGs in the present Commission, with a staff complement of 33,033, of
whom 154 are Maltese
The
Commission has a Representative Office in Malta situated at Dar l-Ewropa, 254,
St Paul's Street, Valletta. Martin Bugelli was appointed Head of Representation
in May 2011
Info:
MEUSAC News