Commission President Ursula von der Leyen introduced her new team today, unveiling significant changes in both structure and priorities within the new College of Commissioners. One notable development is the creation of six Executive Vice-Presidents – doubling the previous number – while eliminating the layer of Vice-Presidents. What does this mean in practical terms, and how does it reflect the evolution of the College over the last decades?
Moreover, several new portfolios reveal the shift in political priorities. Some of the most intriguing job titles now include terms like Tech-Sovereignty, Industrial Strategy, Regulatory Simplification, the Mediterranean, a Competitive Circular Economy, and Housing. What does this realignment of responsibilities tell us about the Commission’s new direction?
Below, I’ll briefly explore these changes, drawing on how the College has evolved over the last decade.
Hierarchy: Peeling away a layer
The emphasis on a “leaner structure” is interesting to see because there has been a trend towards making the College more hierarchical. Jean-Claude Juncker, von der Leyen’s predecessor, upgraded the office of Vice-President from a mostly honorific title to a functional part of the College. His seven Vice-Presidents were delegated responsibility for delivering political priorities and coordinating the work of other Commissioners.
Von der Leyen, at least in her first mandate, continued this trend. She retained the layer of functional Vice-Presidents and added yet another tier of three Executive Vice-Presidents. To some extent, this streamlined decision-making, affecting how the Commission operates as a whole.
Under Juncker, Vice-Presidents started to act as an additional political filter because the right to introduce a new initiative into the Commission Work Programme (CWP) or on to the College agenda was reserved to them. Von der Leyen’s last Working Methods even state that politically sensitive acts require political validation at each stage of the decision-making process by the lead Commissioner and the relevant Executive Vice-President or Vice-President.
However, unlike the Commissioners they were supposed to coordinate, most Vice-Presidents did not have a specific Commission department reporting to them. Instead, they were supported by the Commission Secretariat-General, which also expanded under Juncker and von der Leyen. (There are exceptions, in particular with regard to the High Representative.)
EVPs: The best of both worlds?
It now looks like von der Leyen’s new team will not have the middle layer of Vice-Presidents.
Instead, she is doubling the number of Executive Vice-Presidents (EVPs). (Juncker partly foreshadowed this role by creating a “First Vice-President” role for Frans Timmermans, who was in charge of Better Regulation, Inter-Institutional Relations, the Rule of Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights.)
Executive Vice-Presidents have a double function. They are responsible for coordinating a core political priority (in the last mandate: the European Green Deal, the digital transition, the economy) while also managing a specific portfolio with direct oversight of relevant Commission services.
Of course, EVPs and Vice-Presidents also have party-political significance – Timmermans, Vestager and Dombrovskis represented different political families at the senior level of the Commission in the last mandate. The proposed College for the first time elevates an ECR politician to this senior role.
Clusters: “more interactive and interlinked”
Juncker had ten political priorities and formed a set of up to seven “project teams”, each led by a Vice-President to coordinate the work and deliver together as a group of Commissioners.
Von der Leyen’s first term focused on six priorities, mirrored by six “Commissioners’ Groups”. Three groups were chaired by an EVP, one by the HRVP, two by other Vice-Presidents. She also empowered her eight Vice-Presidents and three EVPs to set up further “Project Groups” that report to these main groups.
We’ll have to see how von der Leyen will arrange responsibilities – she emphasises the need to be more “more interactive and interlinked”. The Mission Letters give some indications who reports to whom and her new Political Guidelines feature seven overarching priorities, but she named only six EVPs. Not sure how the math works out here.
Reading the new job titles and Mission Letters, it also seems there is a large amount of overlap between the portfolios. This isn’t surprising, but the overlap suggests some shake-up of the Commission services is needed to align them more with the new policy direction.
Legal Basis
The Commission President’s power to structure her College can be found in the Treaties.
It derives from Article 17(6)b TEU, which states that the President shall “decide on the internal organisation of the of the Commission, ensuring that it acts consistently, efficiently and as a collegiate body.” Article 17(6)c introduces the role of Vice-Presidents, which shall be appointed by the President.
Picture credit: European Commission
Fabian Bohnenberger 