By Martin Banks - 4th February 2010
It is very disappointing
CoR official
The commissioner-designate for regional policy has been criticised for pulling out of a planned appearance at next week's Committee of the Regions' (CoRs') plenary.
The plenary is the first of the CoR's new five-year mandate and Johannes Hahn, an Austrian, was supposed to speak at the event on 10 February.
Instead Hahn, a former government minister in Austria, will represent the commission at a conference on the Baltic Sea strategy in Helsinki.
The decision has angered some members of the CoR which had hoped to hear from the new commissioner about his plans for future regional policy.
A CoR source said, "It is very disappointing. Instead of addressing the main EU forum for regional representatives, Hahn will be at a very specialised conference.
"We had hoped Hahn - in the week when the new commission is due to start work and the first day of our new mandate - would be in Brussels to shed some light on what he will do but he will not."
All eyes will be on the plenary, held in parliament, as CoR members will vote on their new president.
Under the Lisbon treaty, the CoR, set up 15 years ago, will have enhanced powers including the right to go to the European Court in cases where it believes the so-called subsidiarity principle has been infringed.
The 344-strong body will launch its new term with a debate with Spanish vice-president Manuel Chaves Gonzalez and Hahn will attend its next plenary in April.
He passed his parliamentary hearing and will take charge of a large chunk of the EU budget.
A commission spokesman said its president José Manuel Barroso had been due to attend the event in Finland but had to pull out at the last minute.
He said that it was agreed Hahn would instead represent the commission.
"Of course, there is no sleight intended and we are sure the CoR and commission can continue to work closely together," he said.
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