Race to head Eurogroup heats up

Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Negotiations are heating up ten days ahead of the election of a new president of the Eurogroup, whose job will be to shepherd major reforms to the eurozone currency bloc.

Elected for two and a half years, the head of the Eurogroup chairs the monthly meetings of finance ministers of the 19 countries that use the single currency, with the main responsiblity of coordinating the often clashing economic policies and priorities of its members.

The job was especially crucial during the tumultuous years of the eurozone debt crisis, when the bloc's ministers faced the daunting task of saving the euro from near collapse. 

Currently held by former Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the job is considered one of the most strategic in Europe and on par with the head the Commission, held by Luxembourg's Jean-Claude Juncker, and the head of the Council, held by Poland's Donald Tusk.

The position only has one requirement: the applicant must be a eurozone finance minister currently in office, which excludes Dijsselbloem, who was forced to leave the Dutch government after an electoral defeat earlier this year.

"It's very open", a senior European official told AFP, with interested ministers having until Thursday, November 30 to make themselves known. The election is then scheduled for the next meeting of the Eurogroup ministers on December 4 in Brussels.

Ministers have a myriad of considerations in selecting a candidate, including nationality, political leaning and experience.

"It will require someone with experience because the eurozone is at a key moment, with tough decisions ahead," said a source at the French finance ministry.

Long tipped as a contender, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire is not a candidate and will instead focus on defending the reform ambitions of President Emmanuel Macron within the Eurogroup.

So far the only ministers openly interested are Luxembourg's Pierre Gramegna and Slovakia's Peter Kazimir, but both are seen as long shots, sources said.

Spaniard Luis de Guindos, who lost to Dijsselbloem two and a half years ago, has a lot of support, but refuses to express interest, especially since the post is unofficially designated for someone from the centre-left.

"The Socialists consider that it is still their job," said a diplomatic source, with two names emerging from Europe's left-of-centre parties: Italy's Pier Carlo Padoan and the Portugal's Mario Centeno.

Padoan has experience, but Italy's mountain of debt, the approach of uncertain elections and the omnipresence of Italians in top EU jobs complicate his candidacy.

Centeno fulfils almost all the criteria and is understood to have the backing of commission head Juncker, but the fragile state of finances in bailed out Portugal could play against him.

Another option mentioned by some sources would involve a rule change: the renewal of Dijsselbloem for "six months or a year", enough time to move forward on the mooted reforms.