Is the European Commission run by unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats, as some claim? The answer is no! The Commission consists of a civil service machinery, run by political administrators known as Commissioners, in a similar way to how UK Ministers run government ministries in the UK.

We’ve put together an infographic comparing how the EU and UK executives are elected:

How the EU executive is elected



The Commission is the EU’s executive body, charged with taking care of the day-to-day administration of the EU. Amongst other duties, it turns the European Summit conclusions of the EU’s 28 national government leaders into legislative proposals.

National government ministers sitting in the Council of the EU and (when national sovereignty isn’t concerned) directly elected Members of the European Parliament, work together to amend, reject or approve the legislation proposed by the Commission.

This means EU laws will always be the result of 28 national governments working together on areas of policy where they can reach agreement and where cooperation can benefit all 508 million of their citizens.