Address by Walter Hallstein, President of the Commission of the European Economic Community (EEC), given at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law in London on 25 March 1965. In his speech, Dr Hallstein considers the powers and responsibilities of the Commission in the context of the EEC Treaty in order to discuss the topic of the Commission as a new factor in international life.

Summary of the lecture given by Étienne Davignon, Member of the European Commission from 1977 to 1985, to the Royal Institute for International Relations (IRRI-KIIB) on 11 September 1979 in Brussels, on the theme of the Commission’s role in a strengthened European Community.

On 12 January 1981, Gaston Thorn gives his first address to the European Parliament as the new President of the Commission. Thorn emphasises the Commission’s determination, as guardian of the treaties, to uphold its responsibilities. He also declines responsibility for matters that should be dealt with by the governments of the Member States but are often attributed to the Commission. To avoid misunderstandings of this sort, Thorn calls on the European Parliament to establish an interinstitutional relationship based on trust and cooperation.

As the Heads of State or Government of the European Communities agree on the appointment of Jacques Delors as President of the European Commission, a radio broadcast by RTL explains the fundamental role of the Commission as a key part of the Community’s institutional mechanism.

Olivier Mazerolle, a journalist for RTL, uses the appointment of Jacques Delors as the new President of the Commission of the European Communities as an opportunity to remind his listeners of the tasks conferred on the institution.

On 5 December 2002, the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung describes the role of the European Commission within the Commission–Council–Parliament institutional triangle and emphasises that, as debates are held on the reform of the institutions, the Commission has no reason to be concerned that its influence will be threatened by the establishment of a President of the European Union. A visible head of each institution would clarify responsibilities.

In this interview, António Vitorino, Member of the European Commission with special responsibility for justice and home affairs from 1999 to 2004, outlines the fundamental role of the Commission as the driving force behind European integration and the defender of the general interest above and beyond the interests and judicial systems of the individual Member States.

In this interview, Étienne Davignon, Member of the European Commission from 1977 to 1985, emphasises the political role of the Commission as the institution capable of fixing common objectives and defending the general interest of the Community.