At his last press conference, outgoing EU Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn was convinced that Europe was “intellectually prepared” for an American President Donald Trump. He also gave concrete examples of this.
Hahn cited reports commissioned by the Commission on promoting competitiveness by Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi as examples of Europe’s preparation: “It is time for what we know to be translated into concrete measures.”
For the outgoing EU Commissioner, Europe’s most important task now is to “protect European life in an increasingly complex world. We must act appropriately.”
“This is not the time to go it alone”
The ÖVP politician also sees a “worrying political situation in the member states: a concept like “Austria or Sweden first” does not work.” This is not the “time to go it alone”, “unity between Member States” is important.
Hahn’s reckoning with right-wing populists
He has harsh words for the right-wing populists: “Populists only produce slogans, but no solutions. When they have to find solutions, they fail.” Hahn quoted German CDU politician Wolfgang Schäuble: “Governing is an encounter with reality.”
Linking EU funding to conditions that are “currently customary”.
For Hahn, the introduction of ‘conditionality’, i.e. linking the disbursement of EU funds to the fulfillment of conditions, is a key moment in his time in Brussels. According to the Austrian, this idea was “completely new” when he started as a regional commissioner in Brussels in 2010, “nowadays it is commonplace”.
Due to concerns about the rule of law, several billion euros in EU funds intended for Hungary were frozen in 2022 under the “conditionality mechanism”. For these to flow, Budapest must comply with EU-required reforms, such as in the area of the judiciary; some of the money has already been released.
The corona pandemic has determined Hahn’s term in office
The coronavirus pandemic and the establishment of the EU Corona Fund (Reconstruction and Resilience Facility) also occurred during Hahn’s term as Budget Commissioner. “There is now a lot of criticism of the ARF concept,” the responsible commissioner admitted. But: “At the end of 2021, Europe recovered from the corona pandemic a year earlier than predicted, then the war in Ukraine came,” he defends his concept as “successful.” Now it’s about “lessons on how to implement this in the future.” He supports ideas to merge parts of the cohesion funds with the ARF, because “the critics of more than 500 programs must be taken seriously”.
Hahn did not mention any concrete plans for the period after the European Commission: he must first get used to life as a retiree.
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.
