Legal services
The Commission and the Council both run a legal service providing decision-makers with legal advice. These services control all proposals for laws and make thousands of legal notes every year. The legal notes are neither made public nor accessible by MPs and MEPs.Notes
The Commission legal service is headed by Michel Petite, former Chief of Cabinet for Romano Prodi.The Council legal service is headed by another French civil servant, Jean Claude Piris.
The EU Parliament has a smaller legal service headed by the Spanish civil servant, Gregorio Garzón Clariana, who is called the Jurisconsult.
