gotchanewsdaily.com 
Let’s start with the basics.
What happened?
Ursula von der Leyen was elected for a second term as European Commission president in July (more on how that happened later). The former German defense minister has been in the job since 2019 thanks to a backroom deal between then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, who plucked her out of relative obscurity for what is arguably the most important job in Europe. (This might not appear to be wholly democratic but that’s for another day.)
On Tuesday, she presented her new top team: An eclectic mix of 26 nominees representing each of the EU’s countries, plus von der Leyen, who is Germany’s commissioner. Each commissioner will be tasked with implementing the Commission president’s vision for the next five years.
What is the role of the European Commission?
The EU has three main institutions — the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of the European Union (as you will soon discover, there is also the European Council and it’s not the same thing as the Council of the European Union. You will understandably find this irritating).
The Commission is run by a 27-member team known as the College of Commissioners — no, it’s not an educational institution — that oversees 32,000 staff in Europe and around the world.
The Commission does a number of things, including drawing up the bloc’s annual budget and making sure countries implement EU legislation such as a ban on charges when you take your cell phone abroad and the standardization of USB chargers — as well as, you know, important stuff like ensuring basic human rights and the rule of law are respected.
