Johannes Hahn is currently the longest-serving EU Commissioner. But after three terms in office, he seems to have had enough. According to media reports, the former Viennese ÖVP boss and science minister will end his current mandate in Brussels when his current mandate expires.
“I will look at the further development as a pensioner,” he would have announced internally, according to the “Standard”. “I will retire at the end of October next year, so at the end of this mandate. Until then, of course, I will continue to work with full enthusiasm – there is still a lot to do in my department. But three successful terms in office are enough,” Hahn explained to the “Salzburger Nachrichten” on Wednesday.
After the 2009 European elections, the then red-black coalition sent him to Brussels, which nominated him again five years later. Hahn owes his third term in office to the Ibiza affair, which today celebrates its fourth anniversary.
Will Edtstadler be his successor?
For the European elections at the end of May 2019, the EU election candidate and State Secretary Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP) was appointed as the new EU Commissioner, but the fall of the cabinet Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) intervened. The government of experts under Chancellor Brigitte Bierlein nominated Hahn after consultations with the National Council parties. Edtstadler is currently credited with the greatest chances of a move to Brussels.
The 65-year-old is currently in charge of the budget and civil servants. Hahn also holds an important position within the largest European party family, the EPP. He is one of the ten Vice-Presidents of the European People’s Party (EPP).
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
