president of the European Commission

The President of the European Commission is the head of the executive body of the European Union. The President leads a college of 27 Commissioners, one from each Union member-state, who hold specific portfolios. The President is also a member of the European Council, the body which appoints him/her, with the approval of the European Parliament, serving for five year terms.
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The Treaty of Amsterdam strengthened the role and position of the President of the European Commission. The governments of the Member States currently designate the person they intend to appoint as President by common accord - a choice which then has to be approved by the European Parliament.

The governments then designate the persons they intend to appoint as Members of the Commission, in agreement with the new President. The President lays down the broad policy lines to be followed by the Commission in its work. He also decides on the allocation of portfolios among the Commissioners and any reshuffling of portfolios during the Commission's term of office.

The Treaty of Nice, which entered into force on 1 February 2003, has altered the procedure for appointing the President. From now on, the European Council meeting at the level of the heads of state and government will designate the person that they intend to appoint by a qualified majority. The European Parliament then approves this appointment.

The new Article 217 of the EC Treaty also extends the President's powers as an essential means of ensuring the continued coherence and effectiveness of an enlarged body of Commissioners. This means that the President will decide on the Commission's internal organisation, the allocation of portfolios and any reshuffling of portfolios during the Commission's term of office. He will also, subject to the collective approval of the Commission, appoint Vice-Presidents, the number of which is not specified in the Treaty. He may further, again subject to the approval of the College, require a Member of the Commission to resign.

The European Convention, brought into being by the Laeken Declaration in December 2001, is looking at the issues of institutional reform and the future of the Commission President: should the method of appointing the President be changed again? (a greater say for the Parliament, direct election), should his role be replaced by a "President of Europe" attached to the Council and/or the Commission and selected from among the heads of state?

See:

•Composition of the European Commission
•Confirmation of the European Commission
•European Commission