Commission institution - 'guardian of the treaties' and deputy of the execution and administration functions in the European Union

• Author: Ioana Nely Militaru
• Profession: Department of Law, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania
• Pages: 84-90

Commission institution - 'guardian of the treaties' and deputy of the

execution and administration functions in the European Union

Associate professor Ioana-Nely MILITARU

1

Abstract

As the guardian of the Treaties, the Commission is the institution tha t promotes

the general interest of the Union. From this perspective, the Commission exercises its

legislative proposal, harmonizing the Union's interest with the national one. The Com-

mission is therefore entitled to inform and prosecute the failure to comply with Union

law, including the management of safeguard clauses. The Commission's execution and

management functions presuppose, on the one hand, its power to adopt non -legislative

acts and, on the other hand, to exercise the European Social Fund management rights.

Keywords: Commission institution, administration functions, European admin-

istrative law, European Union.

JEL Classification: K23, K33

1. Preliminary remarks

Also called the "Guardian of the Treaties"

2

, the Commission, through its

members, exercising its full independence, is the institution that promotes the

general interest of the Union (Article 17 (1) TEU). In this capacity, and in partic-

ular from the perspective of the exercise of legislative promoters, the Commis-

sion, through the requests of the experts and experts from the Member States,

harmonises the interest of the Union with the national one.

With regard to the supranational character of the Commission, which has

been highlighted many times since its inception, it is explained by the fact that its

members - commissioners - although appointed by the governments of the Mem-

ber States, among their citizens, act in full independence and are not subject to

any influence from the states that proposed it.

1

Ioana-Nely Militaru – Department of Law, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania,

ioananelimilitaru@yahoo.com.

2

Thanks to art. 17 TFEU which provides, th at "the Commission shall supervise the application of

Union law". See, Pierre Mathjisen, Compendium of European Law, Ed. Club Europa, Bucharest,

2002, p. 112; Cornelia Lefter, Fundamentals of Institutional Community Law, Economica

Publishing House, Bucharest, 2003, p. 172.