Eurogroup decides on new president this Monday

The Eurogroup will decide this Monday on the new president of the informal forum of euro finance ministers, a position for which three officials from Spain, Lithuania and Ireland are competing, with Portugal supporting the latter.

Three ministers have put forward their candidacy to become president of the Eurogroup , namely the Minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise of Spain, Carlos Cuerpo, the Minister of Finance of Lithuania, Rimantas Sadzius and the current leader and Minister of Finance of Ireland, Paschal Donohoe.

As Lusa had already reported, the Portuguese Government will support the Irish Minister of Finance, Paschal Donohoe, in his re-candidacy for the leadership of the Eurogroup, a position he has held since 2020, against the remaining candidates from Spain and Lithuania.

Given such Portuguese support for Ireland, an informal commitment between Portugal and Spain of mutual support for high-ranking positions in the EU is broken.

According to the Council (which brings together the member states of the European Union), the election of the new president will take place by a simple majority of the Eurogroup ministers (11 out of 20 votes). The winner will be announced to the ministers at the end of the vote and, if it is not possible to make a decision this Monday, it will only be made at the ordinary meeting in October.

The Eurogroup is the informal body that brings together euro area ministers to discuss issues related to the single currency .

Once elected, the President is responsible for chairing Eurogroup meetings and setting the agendas for these meetings, drawing up the long-term work programme and representing the Eurogroup in international fora.

Since July 2020, the position has been held by the Irish Minister of Finance, Paschal Donohoe, who was re-elected in December 2022. Paschal Donohoe succeeded the former Portuguese Minister of Finance and current Governor of the Bank of Portugal, Mário Centeno , who was President of the Eurogroup between January 2018 and July 2020.

The Eurogroup was created in 1997. Any minister in office with responsibility for finance in a euro area member state can be elected president of the Eurogroup.