The European Commission, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, serves as the European Union's executive body, proposing legislation and overseeing its implementation across 27 member states. Established in 1958 as the executive for the European Economic Community under the Treaty of Rome, it evolved from earlier bodies like the European Coal and Steel Community's High Authority, created in 1951 by six founding nations. Its main seat, the star-shaped Berlaymont building on Rue de la Loi, opened in 1967 to house 3,000 officials but soon expanded into dozens of structures across the city, from the Breydel to the Charlemagne, reflecting the institution's growth amid post-war integration efforts.
Today, the Commission employs around 32,000 staff, led by a president and 26 commissioners, one per member state. It manages a budget exceeding €180 billion annually, funding initiatives from agriculture to research. Activities span trade negotiations, competition enforcement, climate policy, and digital regulation. Recent projects include the €800 billion NextGenerationEU recovery plan, disbursing grants and loans to rebuild economies post-pandemic, and the European Green Deal, targeting net-zero emissions by 2050 through investments in renewables and carbon border taxes. It also coordinates humanitarian aid, such as €2.5 billion allocated in 2025 for global crises, and enforces single market rules, fining tech giants for antitrust violations. Based primarily in Brussels' European Quarter, with some operations in Luxembourg and Strasbourg, the Commission navigates geopolitical tensions while upholding EU treaties.