In this paper we examines the Commission strategies under crisis and suggest a model for understanding these, various, strategies taken by the Commission in times of crisis, we do so based on mandate and member state engagement. Empirically we examine two crisis events, which affected two strategically important policy areas for further EU integration, have been analyzed: the beginning of the financial crisis (from October to November 2008) and the migration aspect of the Arab Spring (February 2011 to September 2011). Based on the analysis, the study identifies four strategies applied by the Commission: the competent doer, the follower, the bureaucrat and the re-cycler. We find that that the Commission has the most room of maneuver when member state engagement is low and when the Commission’s mandate is strong. In such circumstances, the Commission responds quickly to the situation at hand and shows its skills when it comes to bureaucratic innovation. Moreover, the findings suggests that there is not one given strategy applied by the Commission in times of crisis but rather that Commission acts depending on the engagement of the collective of member states and their mandate in the policy area affected.
