Johannes Hahn
| Johannes Hahn | |
|---|---|
 |
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| European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations | |
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Assumed office 1 November 2014 |
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| President | Jean-Claude Juncker |
| Preceded by | Štefan Füle (Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy) |
| European Commissioner for Regional Policy | |
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In office 9 February 2010 – 1 November 2014 |
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| President | José Manuel Barroso |
| Preceded by | Paweł Samecki |
| Succeeded by | Corina Crețu |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
2 December 1957 Vienna, Austria |
| Political party | People's Party |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | University of Vienna |
| Signature |  |
Johannes Hahn (born 2 December 1957) is an Austrian politician, who since November 2014 is Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations. He previously served as European Commissioner for Regional Policy in the second Barroso Commission, succeeding Benita Ferrero-Waldner as Austria's EU representative.
During his term as EU Commissioner for Regional Policy (February 2010-November 2014) Johannes Hahn implemented the most ambitious and comprehensive reform of EU Regional Policy so far. The main achievement of the reform is the transformation of Regional Policy from a subvention into a genuine investment policy, closely linked with EU economic governance and macro-economic conditions. This allows e.g. to modify programmes to support key structural reforms.
The reform refocuses investments in the real economy and on priority areas which create sustainable jobs and foster growth such as the low carbon economy, support for small and medium enterprises, innovation & research, education and training. The introduction of clearly defined conditions as well as a better evaluation system make sure that the principle of "better spending" is actually safeguarded.
Based on the new regulation, most European regions have developed so called smart specialisation strategies to identify their particular strengths and potentials as the basis for investments.
Despite cuts in the overall EU budget, EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn succeeded to keep the high level of financial support for strategic investments in the new period (2014-2020): Funding for regional and cohesion policy in 2014-2020 amounts to 351,8 bn EUR. The reform, endorsed by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament with overwhelming majority and strongly supported also by stakeholders and the Committee of the Regions, established Hahn's reputation as a "forward looking, bold reformer". More detailed information on the fundamental reform of Regional Policy can be found here: Cohesion Policy Reform in 10 points The Reform of Cohesion Policy
In his new portfolio, Commissioner Hahn launched, together with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, a comprehensive reform of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), as mandated by Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
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