The European Commission and the Integration of Europe: Images of Governance. By Liesbet Hooghe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. 280p. $65.00 cloth, $23.00 paper

Extract

The European Commission is the powerhouse of the European Union. While its role in some respects does not look too different from most national bureaucracies—the formulation and implementation of policy—it is a much more powerful and influential administration than its national counterparts. The Commission acts with extraordinary autonomy from elected officials; if the Commission is stronger than national bureaucracies, the European Parliament is one of the weaker elected assemblies in Europe. Furthermore, the Commission has extensive rights (“a constitutional obligation”; p. 6) to initiate legislative processes, something that tends to tilt the politicobureaucratic playing field in its favor.