After weeks of haggling behind closed doors, the coalition sky was suddenly cloudless yesterday: “Magnus Brunner knows the challenges at the European level,” he is “a clear commitment to a strong Europe with sustainable growth,” said Chancellor Karl Nehammer (VP) praising his finance minister, who is now to become Austria’s EU Commissioner. Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens) praised Brunner as competent and “well connected in Europe.”
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The fact that Nehammer and Brunner (portrait see page 5) particularly emphasized the “strengthening of the competitiveness” of the Union was obviously intended as an application to Ursula von der Leyen for the corresponding portfolio. The coalition did not comply with the EU Commission President’s request that all member states planning a new nomination also name a woman.
- Click here for a Portrait of Magnus Brunner.
The request was a “possibility and not a mandatory requirement,” said Nehammer. The minimal consensus was of course also due to the weeks of wrangling over the personnel issue. According to reports, a female alternative was not chosen because the ÖVP wanted to secure Brunner’s ticket and did not want to risk von der Leyen choosing the candidate in September.
Agreement on Tuesday
“The ÖVP was not prepared to move, and because Europe is very important to us, we ultimately agreed to the proposal.” This is how Green Party leader Sigrid Maurer explained the breakthrough in the conflict over the nomination in an interview with OÖNachrichten. The agreement on Brunner is said to have been reached on Tuesday in the executive round between Chancellor Karl Nehammer (VP) and Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens), i.e. the day before the head of government went on vacation.
The Greens nevertheless saw the former VP group leader in the EU Parliament, Othmar Karas, as the “more independent and technically more experienced candidate,” said Maurer.
According to Green negotiating circles, there are to be substantive concessions for the “commissioner deal”, above all the adoption of the Renewable Gas Act. This stipulates that Austria will produce at least 7.5 terawatt hours of domestic renewable gas by 2030. This is a two-thirds issue. The ÖVP is said to be prepared to make some concessions in order to clear the way for the SPÖ to agree.
In addition, a National Energy and Climate Plan (NEKP) agreed upon by the coalition is now to be sent to Brussels. In it, the government sets out the path to achieving the EU energy and climate targets. The ÖVP is also expected to give in to the phase-out of Russian gas imports by 2027.
No replacement
There will be no replacements at the Financial Market Authority (FMA) for the time being, where Chamber of Commerce President Harald Mahrer has appointed his Secretary General Mariana Kühnel. FMA board member Eduard Müller’s contract does not expire until mid-2025 anyway. In return, the replacements at the National Bank and the Federal Administrative Court could now be completed quickly.
As far as the EU Commissioner is concerned, Nehammer will now inform Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen of the decision. A multi-stage process will follow, at the end of which the National Council’s main committee will give its approval. Only then will Brunner’s nomination be reported to the EU Council Secretariat.
The reactions
As expected, Magnus Brunner’s nomination was received critically in the opposition. SP club leader Philip Kucher referred to a “disastrous record of the current finance minister”. FP general secretary Christian Hafenecker was convinced that the ÖVP was only concerned “with the well-being of its own people”. For Neos MEP Helmut Brandstätter, “the appointment of such an important office must not take place behind closed doors”.
There was support from industry: IV President Georg Knill praised Brunner’s “excellent reputation as an expert and policy expert”. Economic Federation Secretary General Kurt Egger stressed that Brunner, with his “future-oriented and economic thinking”, was the right person for the EU.
