The means of the European Commission to influence European policies

The means of the European Commission to influence European policies are bei ng discussed predominantly with view to its agenda-setting powers. Institut ionalist analyses have shown how the Commission can use agenda setting to b ring to bear its own political preferences on the Council. With view to oth er Commission rights, in contrast, there have not been similar systematic a nalyses to show the Commission's impact on European policies. In this artic le it is shown how the Commission can use its rights following from its rol e as a guardian of the Treaty and from competition law strategically. By si multaneously imposing threats on the Member States, the Commission can pres ent its proposals to the Council as a "lesser evil", pressurizing the Counc il into acceptance. The paper shows the scope and limits of this strategy a nd takes into consideration how other studies discussing the Commission's p owers fit into this framework of analysis.