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Brussels – The outgoing Austrian EU Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn held what he called on Wednesday in Brussels his “hopefully last press conference” in this role. However, he was confident that an agreement on the new EU Commission would be reached and that it could start on December 1st, as already seemed to be emerging. Europe is “intellectually prepared” for a US President Donald Trump, the Austrian is convinced.
As examples of Europe’s preparation, Hahn cited reports commissioned by the Commission on boosting competitiveness by Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi: “It is time to turn what we know into concrete actions.” The main task for the outgoing EU Commissioner is now to “protect European life in an increasingly complex world. We must act appropriately.”
The ÖVP politician also sees a “worrying political situation in the member states: A concept like ‘Austria or Sweden first’ doesn’t work.” Now is not the “time for solo efforts,” the “unity among member states” is important. He finds harsh words for the right-wing populists: “Populists only produce slogans, but no solutions. When they have to find solutions, they fail.” Hahn quoted the German CDU politician Wolfgang Schäuble: “Governing is a rendezvous with reality.”
Linking EU funding to conditions “common today”
The introduction of “conditionality,” i.e., linking the payment of EU funds to the fulfillment of conditions, is a key moment for Hahn during his time in Brussels. This idea was “completely new” when he started in Brussels as Regional Commissioner in 2010, the Austrian stated, “today it’s common.” Due to concerns about the rule of law, several billion euros of EU funds destined for Hungary were frozen in 2022 under the “conditionality mechanism.” For them to flow, Budapest must fulfill EU-demanded reforms, such as in the judiciary; part of the funds has already been released.
Hahn’s tenure as Budget Commissioner also saw the coronavirus pandemic and the creation of the EU Corona Fund (Recovery and Resilience Facility). “There is now a lot of criticism of the ARF concept,” the responsible commissioner also admitted. But: “At the end of 2021, Europe recovered a year earlier than predicted from the coronavirus pandemic, then came the Ukraine war,” he defends his concept as “successful.” Now it’s about the “lessons on how to implement it in the future.” He supports ideas to merge parts of the cohesion funds with the ARF, as “critics of more than 500 programs should be taken seriously.”
Hahn mentioned no concrete plans for the time after the EU Commission: He has to get used to life as a pensioner. (22.11.2024)