In the first place, the Commission is in duty bound to initiate action in all the many fields laid down in the Treaty of Rome, so that the Council of Ministers is in a position to take the appropriate decisions; in other words, the Commission is entrusted with what virtually amounts to a monopoly in taking the initiative in all matters affecting the Community. There are a few exceptions to this general rule, but these ought to be removed at the earliest opportunity. In the second place, the Commission is called on to initiate action when the interest of the Commission as a whole, in the widest meaning of the phrase, so demand.
Relay of Life
