Paschal Donohoe to remain as Eurogroup chair for third term

Irish Times

5 days ago

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe
will be re-elected as president of the
Eurogroup
, after those challenging him for the role pulled out of the race on the day of the vote.
Spanish economy minister Carlos Cuerpo and Lithuanian finance minister Rimantas Šadžius had both put their names forward to challenge Mr Donohoe for the influential European Union (EU) role.
The 20 finance ministers of euro zone countries are due to vote to elect a chair at a Eurogroup meeting on Monday afternoon.
Shortly before the meeting was due to start both Mr Cuerpo and Mr Šadžius confirmed they were withdrawing their names from consideration.
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Mr Cuerpo, who was seen as the main challenger to Mr Donohoe, found his candidacy did not have enough support to be successful. Mr Šadžius said he was pulling out to maintain a 'consensus' in the room.
The Eurogroup usually meets once a month and brings together the finance ministers from the 20 euro zone countries to co-ordinate economic policy, with the president tasked with chairing the meetings.
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Paschal Donohoe well placed in Eurogroup job race despite Spanish challenge
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Mr Donohoe will be formally elected for a third term as chair when finance ministers meet on Monday afternoon.
Heading into the contest the Fine Gael minister had more than a dozen of the 20 available votes locked up. Eleven votes are needed to be elected. It is understood both Germany and France had thrown their weight behind Mr Donohoe's re-election bid.
Many ministers whose parties sit in the same European grouping as Fine Gael, the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), also support Mr Donohoe remaining in the job.
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Mr Donohoe was first elected to the influential role in 2020, beating candidates from Spain and Luxembourg. He was re-elected unopposed in 2022 for a second term. The president, who chairs the meetings of finance ministers, holds the role for two-and-a half years.
The longest serving Eurogroup chair was former Luxembourg prime minister and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, who was in the position from 2005 to 2013.
The Eurogroup president also attends high-level international meetings, such as the Group of Seven (G7), where the leaders of France, Germany, the United States, Italy, Canada, the UK and Japan meet. The meetings are also attended by the head of the European Commission.