Cracks in the Mirror! Reorganizations of the European Commission and Implications for Interinstitutional Dynamics

Although power relations among EU institutions vary over time and their mandates and membership have expanded, basically, the overall institutional structure has remained relatively stable to facilitate smooth decision-making. In other words, the responsibilities and policy domains of European Commission Directorate Generals (DGs) mirrored Commissioners’ portfolios, Council formations, European Parliament committees, and also the organization of the European Economic and Social Committee. Over time, some policy fields were moved from one DG to another over time, for instance gender equality, but this was an exception. Since the adoption of the Treaty of Lisbon, however, the mirror presents several cracks due to institutional changes. One crack became visible when the European External Action Service was created in 2010 alongside the classic set-up of DGs. A second major crack was produced by the reorganization of the College of Commissioners under the new Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. It seems to require a transformation of the DGs as these do not correspond anymore with Commissioners’ portfolios nor with EP committees or Council formations. In this paper we explore the micropolitical motivations for such a reorganization and what they mean for interinstitutional arrangements. Using a historical institutionalist analysis, we trace institutional reorganizations in internal and external EU policies over time and discuss possible implications of the latest Commission set-up for interinstitutional dynamics.