Eurogroup, in Luxembourg Donohoe seeks challengers for the presidency

Brussels – The EPP wants to retain the presidency of the Eurogroup and reaffirm its political weight within the European Union. Paschal Donohoe, Ireland’s Finance Minister and current president of the informal body, is seeking reappointment for a possible third term. The Fine Gael Christian Democrat will have the opportunity to see if there are any contenders for his role at the Eurogroup meeting on Thursday (19 June). It is here that the selection process will get into full swing.

Until now, the finance ministers of Spain and Lithuania, Carlos Cuerpo and Rimantas Šadžius, both socialists, had expressed interest in the Eurogroup presidency. However, neither of them has yet formally and officially applied, and moreover, Cuerpo risks paying for the crisis that is affecting the Spanish socialist party, with the corruption accusations that led to the resignation of Santos Cerdán, the third most important figure in the party. Basically, at the moment, just like in 2022, the outgoing president has no contenders. The Luxembourg meeting will therefore serve to determine whether the Irishman can retain the chair for himself and the EPP.

Donohoe was first elected in July 2020 and subsequently reappointed in December 2022. In both cases, he obtained two-and-a-half-year mandates, and a third term would bring him closer in terms of longevity of service to Luxembourg’s Jean-Claude Juncker, who led the Eurogroup from 1 January 2005 to 21 January 2013. Donohoe inserted an item under ‘miscellaneous’ on the agenda to discuss the Eurogroup presidency. His term of office expires on 12 July, and he will confirm his intention to move on, giving time for anyone who wants to challenge him to do so until 27 June. If there are any contenders, a decision will be made at the 7 July meeting by a simple majority (at least 10 useful votes) as to who will be the new president.