3.2.3. Organisation structure

The Commission has a stable and relatively uniform organisation structure across the whole institution, in the sense that each DG follows the structure of a threelevel hierarchy.

The basic operational building block is the Unit, managed by a Head of Unit which varies in size and composition depending on its role. Several units form a Directorate which is headed up by a Director. These Directorates are subdivisions of a Directorate General which is managed by a Director General who is usually supported by a Deputy Director General.

Within the above basic features there is a large variety in terms of size, remit and modus operandi. As already mentioned there is a DG for each of the major policy areas in which the EU is active. Commission DGs take different forms, ranging from functional structures (often in the area of resource management, as is the case for DG Budget and DG Human Resources) to divisional structures with geographic, programme, process or customer focus.