Leading the European Commission. Prodi, Barroso and Juncker in Comparative Perspective.

Although, similar to national political leaders, Commission Presidents are bound by institutional and political constraints, when they enter office they are nevertheless able to exercise some discretion in re-casting relationships within the core executive, setting expectations for their presidencies, and deciding the extent to which their approach to running the College will be personalized or collegial. These choices are not only important for the Commission, but are consequential for inter-institutional relations and the wider operation of the EU in ways that the paper will explore. Drawing on interviews with Commissioners, cabinet members and top managers, this paper examines and compares the approaches of three incumbents of the presidential office. As well as the choice of members of the College and hearings before the European Parliament, it looks at the organization of the College and its operation, the President’s use of his control of the agenda, the role of the President’s cabinet, and the interaction between the President and the Secretariat General. The paper combines perspectives from the literature on comparative executives and EU studies.