ABSTRACT
The European Commission is the most 'European' of the European Union (EU) institutions. When the scramble between the countries is over and all the portfolios have been distributed, the European Parliament has to approve the whole college of commissioners. Whenever one wonders what is going on in the EU, the European Commission is a good place to start. All EU laws and rules emanate from the commission, because the commission is the only EU institution that has the right to propose legislation. It is also the commission that checks that the EU countries follow the rules that they have decided on together and takes the countries that do not follow the rules to court – a task summarized in the commission's somewhat pompous job title: 'guardian of the treaties'. The European Commission is a supranational institution that is supposed to work for the EU's common interests. Media often have a hard time portraying that.
