In its statement dated July 18, 2024, titled “Reducing Bureaucracy Starts from the Top! The EU Commission Should Finally Set a Good Example,” the Taxpayers Association of Europe (TAE) urgently calls for a reduction in bureaucracy, particularly at the EU level. The EU Commission must be downsized.
The TAE reminds that “EU Commission with 27 members is, simply put, oversized. The principle of “one commissioner per country” still applies, meaning that each EU state appoints a commissioner, “even though the EU Treaty has for years provided for a significantly smaller commission. TAE is calling on the heads of state and government as well as the EU Commission to finally implement this requirement. If this is not possible for the coming EU legislative period, a binding decision to reduce the size of the EU Commission must be made for the following legislative period.
Because if the EU Commission is serious about reducing bureaucracy, then it should start reducing it at its own top and thus set a good example. The experience of recent years shows that more EU employees have not led to less bureaucracy! On the contrary, this bloated EU apparatus with its over 50 directorates general, agencies and departments is creating more and more bureaucracy to the detriment of citizens and companies, and ultimately it costs billions.”
The statement notes that the Lisbon Treaty specifies that from 2014 onwards, only two-thirds of member states may appoint a commissioner (see Article 17(5) of the Treaty). This would mean that the EU Commission would have only 18 commissioners. However, the Lisbon Treaty also includes a special clause: the European Council may decide by unanimous agreement to alter this number, which has indeed been done in May 2013, when the heads of the EU member states unanimously decided to maintain the principle of ‘one commissioner per country’.
The full text of the statement is available on the TAE website.