FAQ
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All questions
- How did the EU begin?
- Is the Council of Europe part of the EU?
- What is meant by ‘qualified majority’?
- Are new Member States introducing the euro?
- Can a country withdraw from the EU or be thrown out?
- Can a Member of the European Parliament be a member of a national parliament at the same time?
- Can I bring a case before the European Court of Justice?
- Can state aid be provided for the production of condoms? (state aid)
- Can the Commission adopt regulations?
- Do I have to take my passport when I travel to another EU country?
- How does the codecision procedure work?
- How does the consultation procedure work?
- How many Europeans voted in the European Parliament elections of 2009?
- How many languages are used in the EU?
- How many Members of the European Parliament does each country have?
- How many political groups are there in the European Parliament?
- How many treaties form the basis of EU cooperation?
- How much does a Member of the European Parliament earn?
- In what order do the Member States hold the Presidency?
- In which countries is the euro used?
- Is ERM II a new character in Star Wars?
- Is Gran Canaria part of the EU?
- Is Norway a member of the EU?
- Is the European Court of Human Rights part of the EU system?
- Is the Official Journal of the EU a newspaper?
- Is there an official EU anthem?
- The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
- What are EFTA and EEA?
- What are the convergence criteria?
- What are the Lomé Conventions and the Cotonou Agreement?
- What countries have applied for membership of the EU?
- What decision-making procedures are there in the EU?
- What do the pools have to do with the internal market? (services)
- What does a euro ‘cost’, and what does it look like?
- What does Bermuda have to do with the EU?
- What does it mean when a country has the ‘Presidency’?
- What does Kir Royal have to do with the internal market? (goods)
- What does notification mean?
- What does the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy involve?
- What does the EU flag symbolise?
- What does the EU have to do with summertime?
- What does the football World Cup have to do with the EU’s competition rules? (competition)
- What does the internal market have to do with football club transfer rules? (persons)
- What does the Treaty say about the procedure for EU enlargement?
- What happened during the Danish reflection pause?
- What happens at Council meetings when Member States do not have ministers for the same areas of responsibility?
- What happens at meetings of the European Council?
- What information is recorded as part of Schengen cooperation?
- What international organisations were there in Europe before the EU?
- What is a directive?
- What is a regulation?
- What is a Schengen visa?
- What is a Treaty?
- What is a ‘private office’?
- What is an Advocate-General?
- What is an Intergovernmental Conference?
- What is COREPER?
- What is COSAC?
- What is EMU?
- What is Greenland’s relationship with the EU?
- What is ratification?
- What is Schengen cooperation and why is it called that?
- What is the CAP?
- What is the difference between intergovernmental and supranational cooperation?
- What is the difference between the ‘Council’ and the ‘European Council’?
- What is the environmental guarantee (environmental derogation)?
- What is the internal market?
- What is the Lisbon strategy?
- What is the purpose of the EU?
- What is the Schuman Declaration?
- What is the size of the EU budget, and how much do the Member States contribute to it?
- What is the Stability and Growth Pact?
- What is the subsidiarity principle?
- What is the ‘acquis communautaire’?
- What is the ‘troika’?
- What requirements must countries meet to become members of the EU?
- What transitional arrangements apply between the old and the new EU Member States?
- What types of proceedings are there in the European Court of Justice?
- What was the European Convention?
- When did negotiations begin on the enlargement of the EU in 2004?
- When did the EC come to be called the EU?
- When is Europe Day?
- Where can I find the rules of the EU?
- Where is the European Parliament located?
- Which countries are members of the EU and when did they become members?
- Which countries are net contributors to the EU budget?
- Which countries participate in Schengen cooperation?
- Which EU referenda have taken place in EU member states?
- Who was Europa?
What is a ‘private office’?
A ‘private office’ is a small group of personal advisers attached to Commissioners.
There are typically around six academic assistants in a private office. Each Commissioner has his own private office, which has the task of helping the Commissioner to formulate policies in his fields and otherwise to assist the Commissioner in the performance of his work and in the preparation of Commission decisions.
If a Commissioner is prevented from taking part in a Commission meeting, the head of the Commissioner’s private office may take part in the meeting and, at the request of the Commission President, present the views of an absent Member on a matter.