What we do

The Commission has four distinct, and equally important functions:

to draft new laws and regulations, which are then submitted to the European Parliament and the Council for debate and decision;
to take charge of the day-to-day management of EU policies and activities (from farming and food safety to protecting consumers from being ripped-off by unscrupulous firms)
to make sure that the laws adopted by the Council and the Parliament are applied correctly and even-handedly in all EU countries (jointly with the Court of Justice)
to represent the European Union on the international stage, for example by negotiating agreements between the EU and other countries

In short, we are involved in everything the EU does in one way or another. When the EU was first created in the 1950s, EU countries focused on cooperating mostly on trade and economic issues.
But now, the EU also deals with many other subjects of direct importance for our everyday lives, such as citizens’ rights, ensuring freedom, security and justice, job creation, regional development, environmental protection and making globalisation work for everyone.

What we do

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