The ‘European Commission’ (‘Commission Européenne’ in French) is the executive arm among the main EU institutions, often likened to an EU “superministry”.

It consists of over 30 “ministries” called ‘Directorates-General’ and is headed by the ‘College of Commissioners’ each coming from an EU Member State, but expected to act impartially and only in the interests of the institution.

The European Commission has around 32000 employees and is the largest employer among EU institutions. It is relatively hard to get employed by the European Commission as most hiring is done through competitions run by EPSO.

Article about the European Commission staff numbers.