The image of faceless, unelected bureaucrats in smoke-filled back rooms in Brussels making decisions for 450 million Europeans is enduring. But it doesn't hold up to scrutiny — and it distracts from the genuinely uncomfortable question: what democratic say do we have today?
Who are these "commissars"?
The word "commissar" is old slang for Commissioner. The European Commission consists of 27 Commissioners — one from each member state.
These are not faceless bureaucrats. They are typically experienced politicians, former prime ministers or ministers. They are nominated by the democratically elected governments of each country. In addition, the European Parliament (which the people elect directly) must hear each Commissioner individually and approve the Commission as a whole. The Parliament can also dismiss the Commission through a vote of no confidence.
How EU laws are actually made
The Commission's role is to hold executive power and put forward legislative proposals. But it cannot pass laws on its own. Every single proposal must be approved by two institutions to become law:
- The Council of the European Union, where government ministers from each member state vote.
- The European Parliament, where directly elected MEPs represent citizens.
This is not unlike the Icelandic system where the government and ministries draft bills, but the Althingi must then debate, amend, and approve them before they take effect. Nobody would claim that "the civil servants in the ministries" rule Iceland single-handedly, even though they write most of the bill texts.
"Fax democracy" — where we are now
The ironic reality is that today we live under a system that resembles what the EU is often wrongly accused of being. Through the EEA Agreement, we adopt a large share of EU regulations in economic and business affairs. Icelandic officials get to sit on expert committees at early stages in Brussels, but when it comes to voting on the laws and making the final decision, we have no representatives in the European Parliament or the Council. The laws are adopted without us and sent to us for implementation.
Norwegian scholars have called this "fax democracy" (fax-demokrati). (See also Would we lose our sovereignty?)
The question that matters
Inside the EU, we wouldn't be transferring power to "bureaucrats in Brussels." On the contrary, we'd be transferring power to elected Icelandic politicians who would take their seats in the European Parliament and the Council with formal voting rights.
Membership is about getting a voice where the decisions — which we have to follow regardless — are actually made.
Sources and further reading:
- Treaty on European Union (TEU), Art. 14–17 — establishes the roles and composition of the EU institutions.
- Ordinary legislative procedure (European Parliament) — official description of how the Parliament and Council co-legislate.
- Voting in the Council — how qualified majority voting works and why smaller states get disproportionate weight.
- Ministry for Foreign Affairs: report of the EEA working group (2019) — analysis of Iceland's limited influence on EU legislation through the EEA.
- NOU 2012:2 — Outside and Inside: Norway's agreements with the EU — Norwegian government report analysing "fax democracy" and the position of EFTA states.
- The EEA Agreement, Art. 99–101 — on information, consultation, and EFTA states' shaping influence on EU legislation.