External experts hand over report on overhauling the European Commission
A group of external advisers has given European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen a report on reforming the institution. No decisions on major structural changes have been taken yet, and they are likely to come later.
In Brussels on Monday, 26 October, a group of external advisers handed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen a report that will help shape the biggest administrative overhaul of the institution in two decades. The Commission is the executive arm of the European Union. The review aims to make it more efficient, streamline its sprawling bureaucracy and make it a more attractive employer.
The report was drawn up by a high-level group led by Catherine Day, a former Commission Secretary-General. It includes eight other experts with experience in national administrations and international organizations, among them the OECD and the OSCE. They put forward nine interrelated recommendations to make the Commission more agile and better prepared for future challenges.
Among the main proposals is a move away from working in siloed departments toward more collaboration between directorates-general, including through portfolios spanning several of them. The group also called for a stronger Secretariat-General as a strategic centre and for a human-centred approach to artificial intelligence to simplify administrative processes.
Von der Leyen said the initial phase, which involved 15 internal workstreams and input from thousands of staff, had ended and a second phase was beginning. She stressed the need for simpler procedures, clearer structures and better cooperation across departments.
A sensitive question
Behind the effort lies a possible reorganisation of departments. As POLITICO first reported, several major directorates-general face an uncertain future as plans change how the EU manages and distributes funds. They include DG REGIO, the regional policy department that oversees cohesion funding, almost a third of EU spending. Also named are the departments for agriculture (DG AGRI), employment (DG EMPL), fisheries (DG MARE) and research (DG RTD).
The report does not mean any decisions have been made. It will feed into a wider review overseen by Budget and Public Administration Commissioner Piotr Serafin, who must present final recommendations by the end of 2026. He said the external assessment, together with staff feedback, gave a "mandate to go for far reaching changes".
In July, Serafin indicated that structural reforms would be closely tied to negotiations on the EU's next long-term budget for 2028–2034, and that he did not expect major decisions before those talks conclude.
