Johannes Hahn faces criticism over meeting with Aleksandar Vučić

The Austrian Green Party is demanding clarification regarding a meeting between Johannes Hahn, President of the General Council of the Austrian National Bank (OeNB) and former EU Commissioner, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.

Vučić shared photos of the meeting on social media, identifying the participants as “friends from Austria and Germany” and noting that the gathering provided an opportunity to discuss “new ideas, business matters and investments.” The meeting included former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and various business leaders.

While the OeNB stated that Hahn’s participation was “purely private,” the Green Party has questioned the nature of such a meeting given his high-ranking role at the central bank. Party spokesperson Meri Disoski announced parliamentary inquiries to determine if the Austrian Foreign Ministry or Finance Ministry were informed of the visit. The meeting occurred shortly before the funeral of Ratko Mladić in Belgrade, an event that drew criticism from EU leadership.