How the European Commission works

The European Commission proposes new legislation, which it then presents (in most cases) to the European Parliament and Council of Ministers for scrutiny and adoption. The Commission also makes sure that EU legislation is implemented by each member state.

The President of the Commission is nominated by the governments of the EU Member States. The current President is Jose Manuel Barroso, formerly the Portuguese Prime Minister.

Each member state also nominates a Commissioner, usually a senior politician. Commissioners do not represent the interests of their country instead they are given responsibility for a specific policy area, such as science and research or health. Britain's EU Commissioner is Peter Mandelson, who has the brief for trade.

Why does Cancer Research UK work with the Commission?

When writing legislation, it is important that the Commission gets advice from the outset from expert organisations, to make sure that new laws are fair and practical. We offer briefings, explaining issues or highlighting potential problems, to the Commission officials who are responsible for preparing the draft legislation. We also respond to relevant consultations which the Commission holds prior to drafting major policy initiatives in order to get input from expert groups across the EU.