Electing the Commission president and commissioners directly: a proposal

摘要

A revision of the Lisbon Treaty may not be on the current political agenda. But this does not diminish the responsibility of political actors and scholars to debate what a more democratic EU should look like and how it could be achieved in the future. Ideas on democratising the EU are usually based on the parliamentary model of government established in all Member States. Although the presidential approach has gained more support in the scientific literature recently, scholars have generally avoided discussing how such a system could be implemented. This article seeks to fill this gap by providing answers to the following questions: Which voting system should be used for the direct election of the Commission president? Who selects the members of the Commission? How will the portfolios be distributed? And should the offices of the Commission president and the president of the European Council be merged?