The European Commission: The European executive between continuity and change

National governments like to claim that their European policies place them at the heart of the European Union, but it may be more appropriate to place the European Commission at this prime location (Nugent 2000). From the outset, when Jean Monnet became the first president of the Commission’s precursor, the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the institution has been closely linked to, even identified with, the progress of the integration project.