Political Work in the European Commission

• In Event: European Union Politics

Abstract

Based on four years of embedded observation in a European Commission cabinet, this paper develops an analysis of political work in international organizations. The analysis traces the successes and failures of the Juncker Commission on four major issues: the Greek crisis, budgetary surveillance of Spain, Portugal and Italy, the reform of the euro, and the fight against tax evasion. The aim is not to ascertain whether the policy was good or bad, but to understand how political work is done in a European Union where the "spectacle of power" is blurred by 24 official languages, 28 national histories, a powerful technocracy, and sometimes opaque institutions. The paper sheds light on debates of ideas and struggles of interest within the Commission, tensions with the Eurogroup and the Parliament, recurring conflicts with the Member States, the informal operation of the cabinets, the role of the media in the Brussels bubble and that of the civil service in the development of European policies.

Author

• Frederic Merand, Université de Montréal