Cabinet
- Catherine Day (Photo: EU Commission)
A cabinet is a group of important advisors to a president, a minister or a commissioner.
In the EU, every Commissioner has his or her own cabinet, typically with 7 academic or lay advisers plus secretarial staff and a personal driver. There is now a requirement for Commissioner cabinets to represent more nationalities.
The cabinet heads are led by the EU Commission Secretary General, currently the civil servant Catherine Day. She meets with the heads of cabinets and prepares the Commission meetings. The cabinet chiefs have wide powers since the commissioners are asked to take part in all decisions but have seldom time to do so.
Only 2% of Commission decisions are taken in the Commission proper. 25% are treated through written procedures and the rest by delegation. There has not been one single decision that was put to vote in the Commission led by José Manuel Barroso from 2004.
The Treaty of Nice makes the choice of Commissioner the result of a super-qualified majority vote.
Notes
The Commissioner’s spokesperson is no longer a personal spokesperson for an individual Commissioner but is part of the collective system of spokespersons run by the head spokesperson under the direction of the EU Commission President. In the complicated EU system the cabinets often assist companies and local authorities in member states to come into contact with the appropriate persons in the respective EU policy areas (directorates).
The President of the European Parliament also has a personal cabinet with advisors and staff persons.
The Court of Auditors has cabinet staff at its disposal too.
