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I wouldn't worry about this too much. The Commissioners they swear an oath you know. An oath to be wholly independent, so we can rule out this having been them

I wouldn't worry about this too much. The Commissioners they swear an oath you know. An oath to be wholly independent, so we can rule out this having been them serving special interests or anything of the sort.

intricatedetail 5y ago
They are also unelected, because they are so virtuous there is no need for people to change them.
- zaik 5y ago
  This is only half-true: "[...] candidates are chosen individually by the 27 national governments. Within the EU, the legitimacy of the commission is mainly drawn from the vote of approval that is required from the European Parliament, along with its power to dismiss the body." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Commission https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Commission
  - intricatedetail 5y ago
    This argument is boring. Like that pushy salesmen trying to tell you the product has the feature you want, but it doesn't. There are no European Commission elections.
    - advanced-DnD 5y ago
      EU Commission does has some democratic element in it. As though they are not elected by the Europeans directly, they are proxy voted by their respective government. This is not new. For example, there are also no ministry election or, yet the government of the day still put people onto that position. This is just one example, if you're coming from the US, you can even think of the even more examples of non-directly elected official making important policies. But judging by your two comments here, you have given this matter very little thought.
    - sbuk 5y ago
      What is boring is having to explain this, time and again to people that clearly do not understand how their own system of goverment works. The European parliament works just like any other. Commissioner is synonymous with Minister. They are proposed by their member state and each state get to nominate a single commissioner. They are elected by the European Parliament, the body that is elected by the general populace. This is arguably more democratic than being apointed by the Prime Minsiter, where appointments are made because they are the PM's political buddy, in the way they are in the UK. Paliament members vote on issues and elect the President, Vice Presidents and Commissions on behalf of the people that elected them. This is literally how parliamentary systems work. The people that work in the Commission are civil servants, like the ones that work in Whitehall. They are unelected, again, like the ones in Whitehall. These are the people that write laws, and keep the wheels of government moving, in Whitehall's case, as slowly as possible - see Yes, (Prime)Minister.
      - intricatedetail 5y ago
        Wow the mental gymnastics in this one. You cannot vote for those people. Come back until I can.
    - CRConrad 5y ago
      The EU Commission is a cabinet, not a parliament. Get back to us when you can vote directly for cabinet in your country. I'm betting you vote for parliament, just like the rest of us, and then that appoints a cabinet. Why should the EU be any different?

intricatedetail 5y ago

They are also unelected, because they are so virtuous there is no need for people to change them.

zaik 5y ago
This is only half-true: "[...] candidates are chosen individually by the 27 national governments. Within the EU, the legitimacy of the commission is mainly drawn from the vote of approval that is required from the European Parliament, along with its power to dismiss the body." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Commission https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Commission
- intricatedetail 5y ago
  This argument is boring. Like that pushy salesmen trying to tell you the product has the feature you want, but it doesn't. There are no European Commission elections.
  - advanced-DnD 5y ago
    EU Commission does has some democratic element in it. As though they are not elected by the Europeans directly, they are proxy voted by their respective government. This is not new. For example, there are also no ministry election or, yet the government of the day still put people onto that position. This is just one example, if you're coming from the US, you can even think of the even more examples of non-directly elected official making important policies. But judging by your two comments here, you have given this matter very little thought.
  - sbuk 5y ago
    What is boring is having to explain this, time and again to people that clearly do not understand how their own system of goverment works. The European parliament works just like any other. Commissioner is synonymous with Minister. They are proposed by their member state and each state get to nominate a single commissioner. They are elected by the European Parliament, the body that is elected by the general populace. This is arguably more democratic than being apointed by the Prime Minsiter, where appointments are made because they are the PM's political buddy, in the way they are in the UK. Paliament members vote on issues and elect the President, Vice Presidents and Commissions on behalf of the people that elected them. This is literally how parliamentary systems work. The people that work in the Commission are civil servants, like the ones that work in Whitehall. They are unelected, again, like the ones in Whitehall. These are the people that write laws, and keep the wheels of government moving, in Whitehall's case, as slowly as possible - see Yes, (Prime)Minister.
    - intricatedetail 5y ago
      Wow the mental gymnastics in this one. You cannot vote for those people. Come back until I can.
  - CRConrad 5y ago
    The EU Commission is a cabinet, not a parliament. Get back to us when you can vote directly for cabinet in your country. I'm betting you vote for parliament, just like the rest of us, and then that appoints a cabinet. Why should the EU be any different?