To what extent does the European Parliament check the power of the European Commission?

One way the Parliament can check the Commission’s power is through Question Hour on the President of the Commission. This allows the MEPs to query the Commission’s actions on key issues such as the environment and can be seen as a form of direct accountability. However, the effectiveness of Question Hour has been questioned, with low turnout and the questions being known before the session, with the questions being asked one at a time undermines the checking of power as the President can merely dodge the question, knowing that the MEPs won’t be able to scrutinise further. In addition, the media interest is low, meaning the President’s views are not made public and there is little pressure to expand on the views, further diminishing the ability of the Parliament to check the Commission.