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Government institution · Brussels · Belgium

European Commission

In research, European Commission stands highest in Social Sciences (#1,214 of 10,521 worldwide), Physical Sciences (#2,195 of 12,888 worldwide) and Economics, Econometrics and Finance (#420 of 1,775 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Political Science and International Relations and Economics, Econometrics and Finance — Political Science and International Relations is 6.3× its share of world research.

commission.europa.euROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#2,324
of 28,054 · #1,954 all time
Rank in Belgium
#13
of 138
Research works
6.2k
◆ 0% vs 2013–17
Citations
119k
19.1 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
28.4%
record average 16.5%
Open access
39%
world 28%

What is European Commission known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Social SciencesDomain #1,214 of 10,521 31.5%353 #1299
Physical SciencesDomain #2,195 of 12,888 25.6%277 #1485
Economics, Econometrics and FinanceField #420 of 1,775 37.6%96 #375
Political Science and International RelationsSubfield #334 of 1,201 23.8%71 #386
Social SciencesField #1,874 of 6,365 28.1%160 #1514
Environmental ScienceField #1,047 of 3,551 34.5%80 #597
Economics and EconometricsSubfield #408 of 1,272 41.4%67 #355
Health SciencesDomain #6,247 of 11,982 22.7%66 #6279
EngineeringField #3,854 of 6,636 20.5%78 #2620

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where European Commission sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Social Sciences#1,299 #1,214
  2. Physical Sciences#1,485 #2,195
  3. Economics, Econometrics and Finance#375 #420
  4. Political Science and International Relations#386 #334
  5. Social Sciences#1,514 #1,874
  6. Environmental Science#597 #1,047
  7. Economics and Econometrics#355 #408
  8. Health Sciences#6,279 #6,247
  9. Engineering#2,620 #3,854
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does European Commission specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Political Science and International Relations takes 6.3× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Political Science and International RelationsSubfield · 71.2 works6.3×
  2. Economics, Econometrics and FinanceField · 96.0 works5.9×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 1.12× its world share, 40 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.32× its world share, 13 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.23× its world share, 2 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.34× its world share, 4 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.26× its world share, 1 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.79× its world share, 2 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.63× its world share, 8 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.78× its world share, 46 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.99× its world share, 12 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.98× its world share, 14 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.69× its world share, 78 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 2.14× its world share, 80 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.39× its world share, 10 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.33× its world share, 3 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.50× its world share, 25 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.23× its world share, 1 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.17× its world share, 23 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.26× its world share, 38 worksMedicineNursing: 0.51× its world share, 2 worksNursingVeterinary: 2.00× its world share, 2 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.67× its world share, 15 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 2.24× its world share, 54 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 2.59× its world share, 19 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 5.94× its world share, 96 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.39× its world share, 9 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.67× its world share, 160 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Economics, Econometrics and Finance, 5.9×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at European Commission?

Ranked on the composite score, P. Schillebeeckx, Arjan Plompen and Philip Taylor lead among researchers whose main affiliation is European Commission.

  1. 1 P. Schillebeeckx · #9,762 worldwide 774 citations · 74 works
  2. 2 Arjan Plompen · #26,084 worldwide 642 citations · 37 works
  3. 3 Philip Taylor · #58,751 worldwide 378 citations · 55 works
  4. 4 Marco Buti · #83,220 worldwide 133 citations · 38 works
  5. 5 Philippe Quevauviller · #96,350 worldwide 188 citations · 44 works
  6. 6 Werner Roeger · #96,661 worldwide 267 citations · 55 works
  7. 7 Fabio Taucer · #212,956 worldwide 232 citations · 19 works
  8. 8 Alessandro Turrini · #217,858 worldwide 126 citations · 30 works
  9. 9 Ph. Quevauviller · #230,509 worldwide 228 citations · 35 works
  10. 10 Wouter P. J. Wils · #232,376 worldwide 63 citations · 25 works
All ranked researchers at European Commission

Which keywords describe research at European Commission?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Economic Growth, Human Rights, European Union, Sustainability, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Globalization and Innovation Policy.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Climate Change50▲ 2.4×67 topics
  2. Sustainability39▲ 2.1×51 topics
  3. Human Rights35▲ 4.5×29 topics
  4. Globalization34▲ 2.3×51 topics
  5. Economic Growth33▲ 5.2×20 topics
  6. Environmental Impact28▲ 2.2×36 topics
  7. Machine Learning28◆ 1.12×51 topics
  8. Renewable Energy24▲ 2.2×26 topics
  9. European Union23▲ 13×13 topics
  10. Sustainable Development22▲ 1.81×37 topics
  11. Innovation21▲ 2.6×24 topics
  12. Economic Development19▲ 3.1×21 topics
  13. Greenhouse Gas Emissions19▲ 9.2×7 topics
  14. Health Effects18▲ 4.0×15 topics
  15. Innovation Policy18▲ 24×6 topics
  16. Global Warming17▲ 5.7×11 topics
  17. Judicial Review17▲ 25×4 topics
  18. Territorial Capital17▲ 72×2 topics
  19. Fiscal Policy17▲ 10×8 topics
  20. Environmental Policy17▲ 11×8 topics
  21. Knowledge Economy17▲ 21×5 topics
  22. Smart Specialization17▲ 60×2 topics
  23. Democracy16▲ 6.1×8 topics
  24. Governance16▲ 6.2×11 topics
  25. Regional Growth15▲ 32×3 topics
  26. Institutional Quality15▲ 19×3 topics
  27. Constitutionalism14▲ 19×2 topics
  28. Regional Disparities14▲ 36×2 topics
  29. European Union Cohesion Policy14▲ 96×1 topic
  30. Structural Funds14▲ 96×1 topic
  31. ECHR14▲ 47×1 topic
  32. European Legal Systems14▲ 47×1 topic
  33. Energy Transition13▲ 12×4 topics
  34. Monetary Policy13▲ 7.0×7 topics
  35. Global Governance12▲ 7.1×17 topics
  36. International Law12▲ 5.2×16 topics
  37. European Integration10▲ 23×4 topics
  38. Policy Instruments10▲ 21×2 topics
  39. Economic Impacts9▲ 17×2 topics
  40. Institutionalization9▲ 13×3 topics

Which research topics does European Commission publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Regional Development and Policy, European and International Law Studies, Climate Change Policy and Economics and Nuclear Physics and Applications.

Regional Development and Policy: 14 fractional worksEuropean and International Law Studies: 14 fractional worksClimate Change Policy an…9Climate Change Policy and Economics: 9 fractional worksNuclear Physics and Appl…8Nuclear Physics and Applications: 8 fractional worksEuropean Union Policy and Governance: 8 fractional worksNuclear reactor physics and engineering: 7 fractional worksPesticide Residue Analys…5Pesticide Residue Analysis and Safety: 5 fractional worksGlobal trade and economics: 5 fractional worksEnergy, Environment, and Transportation Policies: 5 fractional worksMental Health and Psychiatry: 5 fractional works
Political Science and International RelationsEconomics and EconometricsRadiationAerospace Engineering4 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Regional Development and PolicyPolitical Science and International Relations 14 works
  2. 2 European and International Law StudiesPolitical Science and International Relations 14 works
  3. 3 Climate Change Policy and EconomicsEconomics and Econometrics 9 works
  4. 4 Nuclear Physics and ApplicationsRadiation 8 works
  5. 5 European Union Policy and GovernancePolitical Science and International Relations 8 works
  6. 6 Nuclear reactor physics and engineeringAerospace Engineering 7 works
  7. 7 Pesticide Residue Analysis and SafetyFood Science 5 works
  8. 8 Global trade and economicsGeneral Economics, Econometrics and Finance 5 works
  9. 9 Energy, Environment, and Transportation PoliciesRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment 5 works
  10. 10 Mental Health and PsychiatryPhilosophy 5 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available38.7%not open61.3%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors38.8%domestic only61.2%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has European Commission's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 0% lower than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in Brussels

All research institutions in Brussels

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.