Editing European Commission (section)

===Establishment===
{{Structural evolution of the European Commission}}

The first Commission originated in 1951 as the nine-member "[[High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community|High Authority]]" under President [[Jean Monnet]] (see [[Monnet Authority]]). The High Authority was the supranational administrative executive of the new European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). It took office first on 10 August 1952 in Luxembourg City. In 1958, the [[Treaty of Rome|Treaties of Rome]] had established two new communities alongside the ECSC: the [[European Economic Community]] (EEC) and the [[European Atomic Energy Community]] (Euratom). However, their executives were called "Commissions" rather than "High Authorities".<ref name="ENA commission history"/> The reason for the change in name was the new relationship between the executives and the [[Council of the European Union|Council]]. Some states, such as France, expressed reservations over the power of the High Authority and wished to limit it by giving more power to the Council rather than the new executives.<ref name="ENA Council history">{{cite web|publisher=CVCE|title=Council of the European Union|url=http://www.cvce.eu/obj/the_council_of_the_european_union-en-de23700c-e50a-4e0e-a7de-80665e4caf9f.html|year=2016|access-date=18 April 2013|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801045415/https://www.cvce.eu/obj/the_council_of_the_european_union-en-de23700c-e50a-4e0e-a7de-80665e4caf9f.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F028459-0019, Robert-Schuman-Preis, Verleihung an Walter Hallstein.jpg|thumb|left|[[Walter Hallstein]], the first President of the Commission]]
[[Louis Armand]] led the [[Armand Commission|first Commission of Euratom]]. [[Walter Hallstein]] led the [[Hallstein Commission|first Commission of the EEC]], holding the first formal meeting on 16 January 1958 at the [[Château of Val-Duchesse]]. It achieved agreement on a contentious cereal price accord, as well as making a positive impression upon third countries when it made its international debut at the [[Kennedy Round]] of [[General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade]] (GATT) negotiations.<ref name="LSE Chair">{{cite web |last=Ludlow |first=N |year=2006 |publisher=[[London School of Economics]] |title=De-commissioning the Empty Chair Crisis: the Community institutions and the crisis of 1965–6 |url=http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/2422/01/Decommisioningempty.pdf |access-date=24 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025203706/http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/2422/01/Decommisioningempty.pdf |archive-date=25 October 2007}}</ref> Hallstein notably began the consolidation of [[Law of the European Union|European law]] and started to have a notable impact on national legislation. Little heed was taken of his administration at first but, with help from the [[European Court of Justice]], his Commission stamped its authority solidly enough to allow future Commissions to be taken more seriously.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eppink |first1=Derk-Jan |author-link=Derk Jan Eppink |translator=Ian Connerty |title=Life of a European Mandarin: Inside the Commission |publisher=Lannoo |edition=1st |location=Tielt, Belgium |year=2007 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/lifeofeuropeanma00eppi/page/221 221–2] |isbn=978-90-209-7022-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofeuropeanma00eppi/page/221 }}</ref> In 1965, however, accumulating differences between the French government of [[Charles de Gaulle]] and the other member states on various subjects (British entry, direct elections to Parliament, the [[Fouchet Plan]] and the budget) triggered the [[Empty chair crisis|"empty chair" crisis]], ostensibly over proposals for the [[Common Agricultural Policy]]. Although the institutional crisis was solved the following year, it cost [[Étienne Hirsch]] his presidency of [[Euratom]] and later Walter Hallstein the EEC presidency, despite his otherwise being viewed as the most 'dynamic' leader until [[Jacques Delors]].<ref name="LSE Chair"/>