political officials v. administrative officials

There are different levels in the European Commission in terms of officials.
As far as policy making is concerned we need to differentiate between a political level and a administrative level. On the political level an official’s objective is the political performance of the EC or a particular Commissioner/DG. On the administrative level officials are concerned with the factual relevance and problem solving capabilities of concrete proposals. Those differences need to be taken into account when opinions and statements of COM officials are referred to.

policy definition I

As stated earlier I define policy as a solution for a societal problem. To be more specific one would have to concede a proposed or attempted solution, since success or even implementation is a different matter.
But for the moment my focus lies on the other part of the definition: societal problem. Does that mean a problem for everyone in a society? Most likely not for everyone, at least not initially (because in the long run a problem not solved might grow in its importance and eventually affect the society as a whole). If we take Europe (or any other democratic society) as an example, it is likely that a majority of citizens is possibly affected by the problem. Or rather one has to say affected by the possible consequences of a problem. Further more we need to be aware that those possible consequences lie in the future. Which is to say (a majority of) citizens have to perceive those consequences as a valid assumption of the future.
Therefore a policy is a solution for societal problem of which a majority of citizens think that its consequences if not solved will affect them.