Streamline commission, says EU team

The European Commission should be streamlined to boost efficiency, filter legislative proposals, stop overregulation and reconnect with citizens, according to a study likely to influence designated commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.

The study by former senior European officials and industry lobbyists says the EU’s executive arm, which proposes and enforces laws, needs a pyramidal structure to prevent disorganisation and mission creep.

The ideas have received a positive initial response from Martin Selmayr, Juncker’s likely chief-of-staff, and advisers to British prime minister David Cameron and German chancellor Angela Merkel, a source said.