On December 11, in a historic decision for Greece, the members of the Eurogroup elected Kyriakos Pierrakakis as the new President of this informal group of 20 eurozone finance ministers for the next 2.5 years.

This is the first time that a Greek official has held this position since 2004, when the first permanent President in the history of this institution was elected.

He succeeds Jean-Claude Juncker (2005-2013), Jeroen Dijsselbloem (2013-2018), Mário Centeno (2018-2020), and Paschal Donohoe (2020-2025).

Kyriakos Pierrakakis, who was elected unanimously after his only rival, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Budget, Vincent Van Peteghem, withdrew his candidacy, will also take over as president of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).

As stated by the European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity, Valdis Dombrovskis, the Greek official’s success is an important symbolic moment for Greece and the euro area, and demonstrates that the country has made a remarkable turnaround, becoming one of euro area’s best performing economies with a budget surplus.

ESM Managing Director Pierre Gramegna echoed this sentiment, stating that this appointment recognises how far Greece has recovered from the financial crisis of the last decade, with the ESM proud to have been a partner in that journey.

In his congratulatory message, France’s Finance Minister Roland Lescure noted that a little over 10 years ago, the Eurogroup had devised and implemented measures to rescue Greece, which at the time was in a very difficult economic and financial situation.

Referring to the election of the Greek Finance Minister, President of the European Council, António Costa, said that Greece has come a long way in the past 10 years.

Upon his election, Kyriakos Pierrakakis stated that the old distinctions between the North and the South, the East and the West, seem to have subsided, while assuring that “in the years ahead, as President of the Eurogroup, my aim will be to keep the Eurogroup a body of unity and shared purpose, focusing on our common currency, our common economic interests and the European project, grounded in the core values of the Union”.

Sources: AMNA, France 24, Council of the European Union

Image source: Ministry of Economy and Finance

TAGS: ECONOMY & DEVELOPMENT | EU POLITICS