The European Commission is very much at the heart of the European Union. Its wide variety of roles make it the institution most readily identified with the Union's many different activities. Surprisingly, relatively little has been written about this vital European institution. This book makes a major contribution to furthering understanding of the Commission. A broad range of different perspectives based on new research cover all aspects of its nature and functioning.

Neill Nugent is Emeritus Professor of Politics at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. He has published widely on the European Union and in 2013 was given a Lifetime Achievement Award in Contemporary European Studies by the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES), 2013.

Preface - List of Abbreviations - Notes on Contributors - Introduction: At the Heart of the Union; N.Nugent - European Commissioners 1952-1995: National Routes to a European Elite; A.Macmullen - Identities in the European Commission; M.McDonald - Administrative Culture in the European Commission: the Cases of Competition and Environment; M.Cini - A House with Differing Views: The European Commission and Cohesion Policy; L.Hooghe - The Commission as an Agent; M.Pollack - Uniting European Industrial Policy: a Commission Agenda for Integration; T.C.Lawton - Safeguarding the Economic Constitution: The Commission and Competition Policy; L.McGowan - The Commission Made Me Do It: The European Commission as a Strategic Asset in Domestic Politics; M.P.Smith - The Commission and Implementation in the European Union: Is There an Implementation Deficit and Why?; B.G.Peters - Managing the Managers: the Commission's Role in the Implementation of Spending Programmes; R.Levy - The European Commission and the Politics of Legitimacy in the European Union; H.Drake - The Commission and the Intergovernmental Conferences; D.Dinan - The Role of the Commission: A Theoretical Discussion; J.H.Matlary - Conclusions: Themes and Prospects; N.Nugent - Annex: Directorates General and Special Units of the Commission - References - Index