EUROPEAN COMMISSION, also the Commission of the European Communities (CEC) or just the Commission   ec.europa.eu

The European Commission is at the head of the European Union. As an executive body, the Commission implements the Council's decisions and is accountable to the European Parliament.

The European Commission is an institution that is independent the of Member States. Its main function is to initiate and also implement draft legislation. In addition, the Commission has an executive function, as it implements decisions taken by the Council, and also a supervisory function with the right to initiate respective procedures.

Politically, the Commission is accountable to the European Parliament, which has the power to dismiss it by the vote of no confidence.

The Commission is composed of the President (currently José Manuel Barroso) and 27 commissioners (one per Member State). Every commissioner is responsible for a particular policy area. Each commissioner has a cabinet consisting of 6-10 members (headed by the chef de cabinet), the role of whom can be compared to that of the political advisers of state's ministers.

The Commission is assisted by a civil service, which consists of 36 departments called Directorates General (DG). Each DG is responsible for the common policy and administrative work in a specific area (for example, Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs: DG II, Directorate-General for Internal Market and Services: DG XV).