Ireland’s Minister of Finance, Paschal Donohoe, will stay on as President of the Eurogroup for a third term, EU Eurozone finance ministers have decided.
Donohoe has headed the Eurozone countries – which now includes 20 EU member states – since 2020.
Two rivals for the job, Spain’s Carlos Cuerpo and Lithuania’s Rimantas Šadžius, pulled out of the race before it was put to a vote in Brussels.
Tánaiste Simon Harris said Donohoe’s re-election was a “major personal achievement and a proud moment for Fine Gael and for Ireland.”
In a statement, Paschal Donohoe said:
“It has been a great honour and privilege to serve as President of the Eurogroup since 2020. I am very grateful to my fellow ministers for the trust they have placed in me to continue leading our important work for a third term.
As I promised to ministers in 2020, I have been – and will remain – a genuine and honest broker in our negotiations, ensuring that all voices and positions are taken into account.
In the face of significant geopolitical changes, the euro area has proven to be very resilient. It will be my task to further strengthen our common currency area and facilitate tangible progress on our key work streams during this next mandate – from budgetary coordination to the Capital Markets Union, and from the digital euro to the Banking Union.
A stronger and more competitive euro area will reinforce the international role of the euro, further enhance our resilience and prosperity to the benefit of our citizens.”
Eurozone finance ministers meet every month to discuss issues related to the Euro currency. Although an informal group, their size means that they play an influential role on EU economic policy.
Paschal Donohoe has now chaired Eurogroup meetings for five years and is well respected in Brussels.
He remains Ireland’s Minister of Finance.