battle to lead eurogroup reaches climax
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Battle to lead Eurogroup reaches climax

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Battle to lead Eurogroup reaches climax

The winning candidate must secure 10 votes to win
Brussels - Arab Today

Eurozone finance ministers pick the replacement for Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem on Monday, with four countries led by Portugal battling for the challenge of guiding the eurozone currency bloc through much needed reforms.

Finance ministers from Latvia, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Portugal have thrown their hats into the ring with a decision expected Monday afternoon when the 19 Eurogroup ministers cast their vote at a closed session in Brussels.

The job is one of the most strategic in the European Union, tasked with guiding economic policy in the face of clashing opinions and resistance, most notably by Germany.

"I fully expect that the process will take one or two rounds," a senior eurozone official said ahead of the vote, on condition of anonymity. "The procedure is set up so that a candidate emerges after only one or two rounds."

The winning candidate must secure 10 votes to win.

Portuguese Finance Minister Mario Centeno is widely expected to take the prize, having won the support of Spain and positive signs from France and Italy, the eurozone's second and third biggest economies. European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker has also backed him.

"I have decided to put forward my candidacy for the presidency of the Eurogroup... with the intention of working towards a necessary consensus to complete Europe's economic and monetary union," Centeno said in a statement.

His candidacy marks a big turnaround for Portugal since the worst of the debt crisis in which Lisbon was bailed out and forced to push through painful reforms to save its economy.

Also running is Slovakia's Peter Kazimir, a strong backer of Germany's austerity-heavy approach, but he is seen as a long shot after controversial comments about Greece during bailout talks in 2015.

In a surprise, Latvian Finance Minister Dana Reizniece-Ozola, 36 and a chess grandmaster, is also running, though she is relatively unknown to her colleagues.

Their bids come soon after the EU's eastern member states were painfully overlooked in favour of France and the Netherlands to be the new hosts for EU agencies forced to leave London after Brexit.

Luxembourg's Pierre Gramegna, a veteran diplomat, has also confirmed his candidacy, which is seen as a safety choice in case the others cancel each other out.

- 'Europe needs to be stronger' -

Elected for two and a half years, the head of the Eurogroup chairs the monthly meetings of finance ministers of the 19 countries that use the euro, with the main responsibility of coordinating the often clashing economic policies and priorities of its members.

Former Dutch finance minister Dijsselbloem must step down as Eurogroup head after losing his ministerial job when his party suffered a poor election result earlier this year.

The job is one of Europe's top posts, with the holder considered one of the EU's "five presidents" along with European Commission head Juncker and European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi.

The role was especially crucial during the tumultuous years of the eurozone debt crisis and Greek bailout negotiations, when the bloc's ministers faced the daunting task of saving the euro currency from near collapse.

With his dry humour and clashes with Greece's maverick former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, Dijsselbloem became the face of a sensible, austerity-pushing eurozone during the crisis.

Ministers have myriad considerations in selecting a candidate, including nationality and political leaning, with Centeno's socialist party widely considered to be due a top post.

The first order of business for the incoming chief will be shepherding through reforms of the eurozone, which the ministers will discuss on Monday.

The reform push is part of wider efforts, spurred by French President Emmanuel Macron, to pursue deeper integration after Britain's vote last year to leave the bloc.

Greece's third bailout will also quickly come on to the agenda, with Athens expecting debt relief from its eurozone partners next year, a move powerful Germany believes is not necessary.

 

Source:AFP

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

battle to lead eurogroup reaches climax battle to lead eurogroup reaches climax

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

battle to lead eurogroup reaches climax battle to lead eurogroup reaches climax

 



GMT 06:49 2012 Saturday ,01 September

Lamitta Frangieh on her \'Facebook Romance\'

GMT 08:26 2017 Wednesday ,08 February

Qatar spending $500m a week on World Cup projects

GMT 17:00 2017 Tuesday ,27 June

Saudi Arabia rebuts fake news on Turkey, Israel

GMT 10:31 2016 Monday ,12 December

Second Sydney airport cleared for take off

GMT 05:27 2017 Sunday ,16 April

GIB Capital wins 4 EMEA Finance Awards

GMT 13:58 2016 Friday ,30 December

Australia beat Pakistan to win Test series

GMT 10:07 2017 Monday ,17 April

Mark Hamill would like to play George Lucas

GMT 12:10 2016 Tuesday ,13 December

Over 30 dead as Kenya tanker crashes, explodes

GMT 02:13 2017 Monday ,25 September

December22nd-January20th

GMT 15:39 2017 Tuesday ,03 October

Bangladesh rescues 20 Rohingya held by racket gang

GMT 02:51 2017 Friday ,10 November

Under siege, Syria doctors forced to improvise care

GMT 12:18 2015 Tuesday ,14 July

Russia sack Capello as national team coach

GMT 16:07 2017 Saturday ,26 August

ISIS Claims Attack on Shiite Mosque in Afghanistan

GMT 13:47 2017 Monday ,27 February

China blue chips post worst day in 2 months

GMT 02:56 2017 Tuesday ,25 July

President Jokowi performs Eid Prayers in Padang

GMT 16:21 2017 Tuesday ,03 October

Sisi greets Guinea on independence anniversary

GMT 04:18 2017 Saturday ,16 September

Kim and Kanye expecting third baby via surrogate
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday