An unprecedented inside view of the European Commission, and institution which substantially influences the legislative agenda of the European Union. Based on testimonies of 150 insiders, the authors show how the institution is significantly influenced by political power struggles that affect the rules that govern Europe.

1. Introduction ; 2. Position Formation inside the EU Commission: An Analytical Framework ; 3. Studying Internal Dynamics ; 4. Connecting Personal Characteristics and Organizational Structure: Commissioners, Directors-General and Services ; 5. The Intersection of Social and Common-market Policies ; 6. Research and Innovation Policy ; 7. Consumer Policy ; 8. Expert Groups in the Commission: Knowledge providers or political device/ ; 9. Insulated, Technocratic Decision-Making? Commission Position Formation and the Public Acceptability of Policy Options ; 10. Structural Biases? The Link Between Internal Coordination and the Dynamics of Position Formation ; 11. Many Factors in Position Formation, but Some Matter More Often Than Others: Evidence Across Cases ; 12. Shaping Policies for Europe: Internal Position Formation Between Problem-Solving, Turf Expansion and Political Ideology ; 13. Conclusion: Why We Should Care About Power and Conflict Inside the European Commission

this is a timely and rigorous book. Its insights are the result of an innovative theoretical approach, as well as a very rich collection of data. By successfully refuting the idea that the Commission can be viewed as a unitary actor, this book has clear implications for the study of European policymaking more broadly. As more and more important decisions are taken at the European level, it is academics, activists and politicians who should be paying close attention to these arguments.

Provides an encompassing perspective on the day-to-day policy choices of Europe's central agenda-setter for regulatory and spending policies Combines in depth case knowledge and systematic cross-case comparison Bridges central compartmentalized debates in the study of European integration Based on comprehensive new data from insider interviews, internal Commission documents and an the first database on personal and structural Commission features since its founding days

Prof. Dr. Miriam Hartlapp is Professor for Governance and Organizational Studies at the University of Bremen. She was doctoral and postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne, worked at the ILO, Geneva, and led a Young Independent Research Group at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center. She is co-author of "Complying with Europe: The Impact of EU Minimum Harmonisation and Soft Law in the Member States" (CUP 2005) that won the EUSA Best Book in EU Studies Prize 2007 and has published widely on the EU political system, questions of compliance and enforcement, governance in multilevel systems, as well as on international, European and comparative economic, employment and social policies. Dr. Julia Metz is senior researcher in the research area "Governance and Organizational Studies" at the University of Bremen. Previously she has worked at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center, where she is guest researcher now. She holds a Masters in political science and economics from the University of Heidelberg and a PhD from the Free University Berlin. Her research interests include the dynamics of European administrative governance, the nexus of expertise and politics in the policy process, and research and innovation policy and her work has appeared in the Journal of European Integration and Policy and Society, among others. Dr. Christian Rauh is a research fellow in the Global Governance department of the WZB Berlin Social Science Center. He received his M.A. in Politics and Management from the University of Konstanz and his PhD from the Free University Berlin. His dissertation on "Politicisation, issue salience, and the consumer policies of the European Commission " was awarded with the 2013 ECPR Jean Blondel Prize for the best thesis in politics. His work covers political economy and supranational governance and has appeared in the European Journal of Government and Economics, West European Politics, the Journal of European Integration and the Journal of Common Market Studies.

Provides an encompassing perspective on the day-to-day policy choices of Europe's central agenda-setter for regulatory and spending policies Combines in depth case knowledge and systematic cross-case comparison Bridges central compartmentalized debates in the study of European integration Based on comprehensive new data from insider interviews, internal Commission documents and an the first database on personal and structural Commission features since its founding days