The European Commission drafts proposals for new European legislation that it submits to the European Parliament and the European Council; it makes sure that European Union deliberations are correctly enacted, supervises use of EU funds, and ascertains the observance of European treaties and regulations. Having twenty members (assisted by approximately 24,000 officials) - appointed by member governments in collaboration with the designated president and approved by Parliament - the Commission remains in force for a five-year term and acts independently of member-state governments. This book examines the historical development, the current operation and the possible evolution of the European Commission. In its explanation of the decision-making process within the Commission, the relationship among the president and the commissioners, the connections between the political and organisational aspects of Commission activity, the book helps the reader understand the original nature and the challenges that characterise this multicultural administrative system. The text addresses the principal features of the internal reform and European governance introduced by the Prodi Commission, and also describes the initial stages of the Barroso Commission and its relationship with the European Parliament. Finally, the volume considers the innovations associated with the European Constitution and provides interpretive tools in order to better comprehend the institution's future.

Sandro Gozi, a European official, was a member of Romano Prodi's cabinet during his term as president of the European Commission; today Gozi is a one of the European Policy Councillors of the current Commission president, Jos Manuel Barroso. He also teaches European Law and Policy at the European Colleges in Bruges and Parma, the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris and the University of Lecce.