In the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

, a cabinet (the French pronunciation, ''cab-ee-nay'', is used) is the personal office of a European Commissioner. The role of a cabinet is to give political guidance to its Commissioner. Technical policy preparation is handled by the European Civil Service. The term is not to be confused with the European Commission's top decision making-body known in EU-lexicon, as the "College of Commissioners" (referred to in most political systems as a cabinet).

Composition

The Commissioner's cabinets are seen as the real concentration of power within the Commission and consist of six members, but the exact membership faces restrictions. Two must be women, no more than three can be of the same nationality as the Commissioner and it must also reflect the Union's regional diversity. However the exact make up does change throughout the Commissioner's term. The head member is known by its French translation: '' Chef de Cabinet''.

Special chefs

''Special chefs'' are a meeting of a member of each cabinet (for a certain area), the legal service and the secretariat general. They perform last minute preparations to proposed laws before they go before the College of Commissioners, but they are a "political equivalent of a

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...

" with a great degree of

cloak and dagger "Cloak and dagger" was a fighting style common by the time of the Renaissance involving a knife hidden beneath a cloak. The term later came into use as a metaphor, referring to situations involving intrigue, secrecy, espionage, or mystery. Over ...

work. The most "special" of these is the group for inter-institutional relations (formerly Parliamentary affairs) as it provides the Commission with an early warning on what the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

is thinking - before it rejects the Commission's proposals. The most astute civil servants get sent to these meetings. The heads of cabinets meet weekly in the "Hebdo" - the most important meeting of European Civil Servants who direct the work of the Commission and the Commissioners.Eppink, 2007, p.136

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