Reforming the European Commission: an organisational culture perspective

Book abstract:

Since the summer of 1999 the European Commission has been engaged in a process of internal organisational reform. The reform was initiated as a response to criticisms from, amongst others, the Court of Auditors, the European Parliament and the Committee of Independent Experts. One of the most interesting effects of the events surrounding the resignation of the Santer Commission on 15 March 1999 has been the emphasis given to the cultural characteristics of the Commission. The Commission's culture or cultures have been blamed for many of the internal problems plaguing the institution and, as a consequence, references to the need to change the Commission's culture are now relatively commonplace. But to what extent is there any substance behind the rhetoric of cultural change; and if there is substance, does the Commission have a particular model of change to which it is working? These are the questions addressed in this paper.