European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn | Leon Neal — Pool/Getty Images

Austria to nominate Johannes Hahn to stay at Commission

The 61-year-old conservative is currently in charge of the bloc’s enlargement.

By

7/11/19, 5:29 PM CET

Updated 7/12/19, 2:33 PM CET

Austria’s interim Chancellor Brigitte Bierlein will put forward Johannes Hahn to stay as the country’s representative in the next European Commission.

Bierlein said in a statement Thursday that, following discussions with all parties in the Austrian parliament, she intends to nominate Hahn to remain at the EU executive for a third term.

For now, the 61-year-old from the center-right Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) is in charge of the bloc’s enlargement policies. He was first picked to become Austria’s commissioner in 2010, when he oversaw regional policy.

The current Commission under President Jean-Claude Juncker remains in office until October.

Every nominee to become commissioner will need the approval of the Commission’s new president and the European Parliament to take office. The Parliament is expected to vote on the presidential nominee, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, on Tuesday.

Authors:
Judith Mischke