Let’s begin with the fundamentals.
What occurred?
Ursula von der Leyen was elected for a second time period as European Fee president in July (extra on how that occurred later). The previous German protection minister has been within the job since 2019 because of a backroom deal between then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, who plucked her out of relative obscurity for what’s arguably an important job in Europe. (This may not seem like wholly democratic however that’s for an additional day.)
On Tuesday, she introduced her new high workforce: An eclectic mixture of 26 nominees representing every of the EU’s international locations, plus von der Leyen, who’s Germany’s commissioner. Every commissioner shall be tasked with implementing the Fee president’s imaginative and prescient for the following 5 years.
What’s the position of the European Fee?
The EU has three most important establishments — the European Fee, the European Parliament, and the Council of the European Union (as you’ll quickly uncover, there’s additionally the European Council and it’s not the identical factor because the Council of the European Union. You’ll understandably discover this irritating).
The Fee is run by a 27-member workforce generally known as the Faculty of Commissioners — no, it’s not an academic establishment — that oversees 32,000 workers in Europe and around the globe.
The Fee does plenty of issues, together with drawing up the bloc’s annual funds and ensuring international locations implement EU laws similar to a ban on expenses if you take your mobile phone overseas and the standardization of USB chargers — in addition to, you already know, vital stuff like guaranteeing fundamental human rights and the rule of legislation are revered.
