So, it’s really a ‘Triumvirate’ like in Old Rome. Some things never change............
Actually it's not at all like the Roman TriumvirateS
The Triumvirates (the first Crassus-Caesar-Pompey and the second Antony-Octavian-Lepidus) were not formal organizational structures and didn't outlast their members. They were also geographic divisions of absolute control.
the President of the EU council, of the parliament and of the Commission are no different than the separation between the President (executive), speaker of Congress (legislative) andhead of the US governors (EU Council) --
| EU President | Institution | US Equivalent Role | Actual Function |
| President of the European Commission | European Commission | The President / Executive Branch | Runs the daily bureaucracy, proposes laws, and executes the budget. |
| President of the European Council | European Council | Head of the National Governors Association | Represents the 27 state leaders (governors/presidents) who set the overall political direction. |
| President of the European Parliament | European Parliament | Speaker of the House | Leads the directly elected legislature that debates, amends, and votes on laws. |
though technically Ursula the President of the EU commission is more akin to a Prime Minister than the President of USA in election or in powers.
- Citizens of EU member countries vote for Members of the European Parliament (MEPs)
- the MEPs of Parliament vote on who will be the Commission President
- To take office, the President must win an absolute majority vote in the Parliament. For instance, current President Ursula von der Leyen had to secure a majority of 401 votes from MEPs to win her mandate
i suppose the better comparison is to a Presidential cabinet member - they aren’t elected, but they are the top bureaucrats who are to execute the President’s will.
National governments nominate the Commissioners, who must then pass grueling, multi-hour public grillings by EU committees before the Parliament votes to confirm the entire administration
I personally think it would be better if they scrapped the EU parliament and reduced the President of the EU commission to being a pure executor i.e. administrator who does what (s)he is told to do - a glorified program/project manager.
Push it back to being led by the EU council (i.e. the leaders of the 27 countries) while retaining a revolving Primus-inter-pares