Greek minister Pierrakakis elected as president of Eurogroup

Greek Finance minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis was elected president of the Eurogroup on Thursday, rewarding the country’s turnaround story ten years after Greece almost crashed out of the eurozone in a deep economic crisis.

Sources familiar with the matter told Euronews that ministers appreciated the country’s reforms agenda and saw in the Greek finance minister a positive story for the bloc.

His rival, the Belgian Budget Minister Vincent Van Peteghem, who was also in the running, saw his candidature caught up in a political crossfire over a reparations loan for Ukraine, which his country opposes, but most member states support.

A diplomat familiar with the matter told Euronews that the Belgian minister had a profile strong as he is well considered by his colleagues over his handling of the financial dossiers during the Belgian rotating presidency of the European Union, but Pierrakakis proved more of a consensus candidate.

Earlier, a second diplomat had suggested a tight race, but the Greek candidate ultimately gathered a large majority.

He will take over the functions on 12 December, coinciding with the exit of former boss Paschal Donohoe, who was re-elected this year but abruptly exited the position to take a take the top job at the World Bank in Washington.

The Eurogroup gathers finance ministers to handle key economic files including the EU’s capital markets and the investment union at crucial for the European economy, coming under assault of China’s growing global market share and US tariffs.

The Greek politician will be in office for the next 2.5 years and will also be the chairman of the European Stability Mechanism, the EU’s bailout fund.

In a statement after his election, Pierrakakis thanked the eurozone ministers and laid out his political approach once he takes over the job, bridging the European periphery and the core nations such as Germany.

“The old distinction between the north and the south, the east and the west, the so called frugals and the so-called spenders, seems to have subsided. And this is because the challenges that we face are more or less common,” he said.

Pierrakakis also endorsed the Draghi report, penned by the influential former president of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi who argues that the EU needs radical change or will head into a slow agony. “We know what we have to do”, Pierrakakis added.

“This is what I will plan to focus on while delivering on the agendas of the Savings and Investment Union, the single market, the digital euro, and strengthening the fiscal foundations of the Eurozone while achieving growth at the same time”, he said.