The role of the Commission in the European Union

In this paper the role of the European Commission is analyzed. The focus is on the role that it plays in policy areas where it has an uncertain formal competence or no formal competence, i.e. where the relevant formal actors are member states. The paper looks at the various actor and arena roles that the Commission plays, and discusses the conditions under which it can play a leadership role. The major contribution of the paper is in pointing to theoretical avenues for further research on the Commission's role through an evaluation of recent contributions to the literature.