Greek Kyriakos Pierrakakis, new president of the Eurogroup

The Greek Finance Minister, Kyriakos Pierrakakis was elected this Thursday as the new president of the Eurogroup replacing the Irishman Pascal Donohoe. Pierrakakis won the final sprint over his Belgian counterpart Vincent van Peteghem. This result also sends a symbolic message: Greece will lead the Economy Ministers ten years after being plunged – and rescued – into the great economic crisis; In 2015, in fact, the third and final bailout was approved.

In this way, one of the darkest chapters in the recent history of the EU is closed, in a way. It is worth highlighting, in this regard, that Pierrakakis was part of the designated team in 2014 by the Government of that time to negotiate with the troika (European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund) at the most dramatic moments of the Hellenic recession.

The Greek, who like the Belgian is from the EPP family, comes to office to replace Donohoe and after the Spanish Carlos Body, for his part, resigned from appearing. A few months ago, in the race that served for Donohoe to revalidate the position, the Spanish minister withdrew his candidacy due to lack of support. The Economy ministers have also preferred to see in Pierrakakis an election that serves to cover a historical wound with Greece.

Pierrakakis will hold the position for a renewable period of two and a half years. His rival, the Belgian Vincent van Peteghem, had the current dynamic against him: his Government opposes the formula of using frozen Russian assets for the reconstruction of Ukraine Belgium being the country that houses precisely 62% of these funds. That issue will in fact be the key issue at the next European Council summit on December 18 and 19.

The Greek, for his part, is one of the strongest men in Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ Executive. He has held the Economy and Finance portfolio since March of this year. and before that he held the position of Minister of Digital Transformation and later that of Education and Sports. He has been a member of the Greek Parliament only since 2023.

The Eurogroup is an informal body created in 1997 in which the ministers of the member states of the euro area They debate issues related to their countries’ common responsibilities in relation to the euro.

Its main task is to ensure close coordination of economic policies between the member states of the euro area. It also aims promote the conditions for stronger economic growth and is in charge of preparing the Euro Summit meetings and their follow-up.

This organization meets normally once a month, on the eve of the meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin). The Ecofin Council is made up of the economy and finance ministers of all Member States and is responsible for EU policy in three main areas: economic policy, tax issues and regulation of financial services.

On the other hand, Carlos Corpus himself confirmed this Thursday that Spain will present candidacy for some of the positions to be renewed on the executive board of the European Central Bank (ECB)from which, for example, the now vice president Luis de Guindos will emerge. Body, however, did not give names. “We will present a candidacy. When we do so it will be powerful, competent, and in this sense what we are going to push is for Spain to remain present in the council,” said the head of Economy.

“Spain has to play a predominant role in the institutions, and even more so in an institution like the ECB“, not only because of the excellent moment that our economy is going through, but because of the weight it has as a shareholder of the ECB and because of the importance for any game of balance,” he concluded before journalists in the community capital.