Donohoe to run for third Eurogroup term – and may already have the votes

Brussels – Paschal Donohoe and his third term at the head of the Eurogroup, an achievement the Irish finance minister is pursuing and could achieve. The outgoing president’s official candidature came yesterday (June 19) at the meeting of the economic ministers of the EU countries with the single currency: “As you know, my current term will come to an end on July 12. I’ve made public my intention to ask for support from my colleagues to continue my work,” he said at the end of the meeting, at the moment with no challenger. No one has yet come forward, and the Irishman currently finds himself in the same situation as 2022, when no one else decided to run for the position. 

There is time until June 27 to come out of the woodwork, with the ministers of Spain and Lithuania considering running. Behind the scenes, both are testing the waters to see what kind of chances they may have of succeeding. 

Donohoe is confident that he has the necessary consensus to continue in his current role. It is a simple majority vote, and the numbers lean in his favor. Five of the 20 eurozone members – Belgium, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, and Portugal – are from the European People’s Party — his party. The economy minister of Croatia, Marko Primorac, is independent but the nominee of the Christian Democratic Union, the party affiliated with the EPP. Then there are the ministers from the Netherlands and Finland, the former a liberal and the latter an independent but with a right-wing stance, given their countries’ traditionally strict lines regarding budgetary policies. 

The outgoing president of the Eurogroup would already have secured eight votes, in addition to his own, in a possible confrontation, which is currently not on the horizon. A total of nine votes puts Donohoe in a position of strength that is difficult to challenge, barring unexpected twists. Of course, there are four socialist ministers (Austria, Germany, Lithuania, and Malta) plus the three independents with socialist support and orientation (Spain, Slovakia, and Cyprus). The situation makes the confrontation interesting, provided someone decides to come forward and challenge Donohoe.