Drawing on original data from an online survey and a programme of interviews conducted by an international team of researchers, this book examines the internal working of the European Commission and the beliefs and backgrounds of its personnel. Testing widely accepted wisdoms about the organization, the book provides a detailed analysis of one of the world’s most powerful international administrations. It asks: Who are the people who work for the Commission? What do officials believe about the role of the Commission in the EU? Do they think that the Union should have more or less power? What l ... More

Drawing on original data from an online survey and a programme of interviews conducted by an international team of researchers, this book examines the internal working of the European Commission and the beliefs and backgrounds of its personnel. Testing widely accepted wisdoms about the organization, the book provides a detailed analysis of one of the world’s most powerful international administrations. It asks: Who are the people who work for the Commission? What do officials believe about the role of the Commission in the EU? Do they think that the Union should have more or less power? What leads them to choose to pursue a career in the Commission, and how do they navigate its complexities? How does the Barroso Commission compare to previous Commissions? How harmonious are relations between cabinets and the services? What has been the impact on the Commission of administrative reform and of the ‘big bang’ enlargement? The findings challenge many established myths about the organization. Among the most important, these are: • Commission officials are not overwhelmingly career bureaucrats, but come from a variety of professional backgrounds • Although most joined the Commission to ‘build Europe’, they differ on whether the EU should be federal or state-centric • The networks formed by officials to negotiate the organization are based on professional contacts, not nationality; • The Barroso Commission is more presidentialized than its predecessors and coordination is more effective than in the past; • Officials are ambivalent about the profound changes brought about by administrative reform and enlargement.In summary, the book presents a picture of the Commission that is sharply different from earlier studies.