CollegialityisacorelegalprincipleoftheEuropeanCommission’sinternaldecision-making,actingasasafeguardtotheCommission’ssupranationalcharacterandensuringtheCommission’sindependencefromEUMemberStates.Despitecollegiality’scentralrolewithintheCommission,itslegalandpoliticalimplicationshaveremainedcriticallyunderexamined.CollegialityintheEuropeanCommissionshedslightonthiscrucialaspectoftheCommission’sworkforthefirsttime.Inthisnovelstudyoncollegiality,MariaPatrinproposesaninnovativeframeworkforassessingtheCommission’sinstitutionalroleandpower.Thebook’sfirstpartlegallyexaminescollegiality,retracingcollegialproceduresandactorsindifferentlayersofdecision-making--fromtheCommission’sservicestotheCollegeofCommissioners.Thesecondpartofthebookexplorestheimplementationofcollegialitythroughillustrativecasestudies,focusingonvariousCommissionfunctionsincludinglegislativeinitiative,infringementproceedings,andeconomicgovernance.Partin’sempiricalanalysisunveilsadisconnectbetweenthelegalnotionofcollegialityanditsconcreteapplicationininstitutionalpractices.ThesevariationsraisenormativequestionsonhowtoensuretheunityoftheCommissionasacollegialbodydespitethediversificationofdecision-makingfunctions.Theyalsoinviteare-examinationoftheCommission’smultifacetedroleinthecurrentEUinstitutional,legal,andpoliticalsetting.Adoptinganinterdisciplinaryapproachthatdelvesintoboththelegalsubstanceandthepolitical-institutionalpracticeofcollegiality,thisbookoffersaunique,behind-the-scenesinsightintotheCommission’sdecision-makingprocesses,furtheringourunderstandingoftheEU’sinstitutionalsystem.
