Reforming the European Commission: A historical institutionalist approach : Why has the reform of the Commission been difficult?

Abstract: The reform of the European Commission has been on the EU agenda for more than three decades. The attempts to introduce an overhaul of the Commission’s institutional structure has been motivated predominantly by the fact that the efficiency of the functioning of the European Commission has been in decline. Despite the striking need to restore the Commission's efficiency, which has become even more urgent in the last decade, the attempts to improve its modus operandi have been marked by many obstacles, difficulties and delays. This thesis aims to analyze and explain why the process of reforming the European Commission has been so problematic. In order to achieve this goal, the theoretical framework of historical institutionalism has been utilized. More precisely, we mainly build on the work of Paul Pierson, whose concepts help us understand the reasons behind the failure of a number of reform plans regarding the Commission and clarify why the institutional structure of the European Commission is characterized by a high degree of stability.