EGN NEWS DESK
Let’s begin with the fundamentals.
What occurred?
Ursula von der Leyen was elected for a second time period as European Commission president in July (extra on how that occurred later). The former German protection minister has been within the job since 2019 due to a backroom deal between then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, who plucked her out of relative obscurity for what’s arguably a very powerful job in Europe. (This won’t seem wholly democratic, however that’s for an additional day.)
On Tuesday, she introduced her new high staff: An eclectic mixture of 26 nominees representing every of the EU’s nations, plus von der Leyen, who’s Germany’s commissioner. Each commissioner might be tasked with implementing the Commission president’s imaginative and prescient for the following 5 years.
What is the function of the European Commission?
The EU has three major establishments — the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of the European Union. (As you’ll quickly uncover, there may be additionally the European Council, which isn’t the identical factor because the Council of the European Union. You will understandably discover this irritating.)
The Commission is run by a 27-member staff referred to as the College of Commissioners — no, it’s not an academic establishment — that oversees 32,000 workers in Europe and all over the world.
The Commission does quite a few issues, together with drawing up the bloc’s annual price range and ensuring nations implement EU laws akin to a ban on prices if you take your cellular phone overseas or the standardization of USB chargers — in addition to, you understand, essential stuff like making certain that fundamental human rights and the rule of legislation are revered.
