ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the organization and functions of the European Commission, as originally conceived and as developed over four decades, which enabled it to respond to recent opportunities. It gives special attention to the functional orientation of the Treaties that provide the constitutional basis for the Community; the membership and organization of the Commission; its functions; and its tasks of political management, which involve it closely with the political leaderships and the bureaucracies of member states. The chpater analyzes the "dynamics of the new Community", examines the transformation of the agenda, relevant changes in the "partner institutions" of Council and Parliament, and the impacts of Jacques Delors as President of the Commission since 1985. It includes ideas about priorities and possible solutions. Many of them concern efficiency; the most important are linked with the question of legitimacy. The point of departure must, however, be the organization and the functions of the Commission as originally conceived and developed over four decades.
