The European Commission: Leadership, Accountability, and External Interaction

Abstract

This panel investigates the role of the European Commission within the wider EU political system. The five papers, based on original and ongoing research, focus on aspects of inter-institutional relations and relationship dynamics centred on the Commission. Matilde Ceron and Thomas Christiansen examine how the method by which the Commission President is appointed affects institutional dynamics and party politics within the EU system, and public perceptions more broadly. Dan Kelemen and Tommaso Pavone consider how the Commission has approached and performed its enforcement responsibility over time. They find that the guardian of the treaties have become less inclined to take action against EU member states and examine the consequences for the EU system. Anchrit Wille compares processes of politicisation between the European Commission and the European Central Bank, and, finding a differentiated pattern, draws out the implications for democratic legitimacy and accountability. Didier Georgakakis compares senior appointments in the Juncker and the von der Leyen Commissions to link organisational capacity with leadership ambition and aims, while Sara Connolly, Ben Geys, Hussein Kassim, Zuzana Murdoch, and Francesca Vantaggiato draw on a two-wave survey to investigate whether the governance beliefs of Commission staff are linked to their interaction with external actors. The panel brings together

Title	Details
Who rules the European Commission? A comparison of the top position constellations 2015-2020	View Paper Details
Politicization of EU executive power: a comparative analysis of the European Commission and the ECB.	View Paper Details
The impact of external interaction on the governance beliefs of bureaucrats: a two-wave study of the European Commission	View Paper Details
Where Have the Guardians Gone? Law Enforcement and the Politics of Forbearance in the European Union	View Paper Details
Conceptualising the Impact of Leadership Selection in the European Union: Inter-institutional Relations, Party Politics and Public Legitimacy	View Paper Details