Ireland’s Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe was elected Thursday to head the group of eurozone finance ministers known as the Eurogroup, beating rival candidates from Luxembourg and Spain.
45-year-old Donohoe will take over from the outgoing president Mario Centeno on Monday and will serve a two-and-a-half-year mandate until the end of 2022.
Donohoe will reportedly seek to help guide the eurozone through what is predicted to be the bloc’s deepest recession in almost a century. As the pandemic ravages economies worldwide, he has vowed to promote sustainable growth.
Donohoe will be expected to steer the finance group of the bloc of 19 nations using Europe’s single currency, and ensure close coordination of economic policies among member states.
“As President, I will seek to build bridges among all members of the Euro Area, and to engage actively with all member states, to ensure that we have a consensus-based approach to the recovery of our economies and our societies,” Donohoe announced in a statement after he was elected.
The new chief faces the challenge of leading the Eurozone through what is projected to be Europe’s deepest recession in almost a century, as the coronavirus pandemic devastates economies worldwide.
Donohoe said his immediate priority would be “to chart a common way forward on building the European recovery, strengthening the Eurozone economy, and promoting sustainable and inclusive growth for Member States and their citizens.”
I am deeply honored to be elected as the new President of the #Eurogroup. I look forward to working with all of my Eurogroup colleagues in the years ahead to ensure a fair and inclusive recovery for all as we meet the challenges ahead with determination pic.twitter.com/9k8EQfWSJa
— Paschal Donohoe (@Paschald) July 9, 2020
The Dublin-born liberal-conservative Fine Gael politician has served as Ireland’s finance minister since 2017, fronting measures to recover the country from a devastating post-2008 recession and navigate the economy from the threats of the coronavirus crisis and Brexit.
MEET THE NEW #EUROGROUP PRESIDENT>Ireland’s Paschal Donohoe>is an opponent of the EU Commission's #DigitalServicesTax >staunch defender of Ireland 12.5% corporationTax,which will neither go up nor down under, offering security to businesses @ZygmuntowskiJ
— Lil'Aphasia (@lil_Aphasia) July 10, 2020
Last month, he retained his role in Ireland’s newly formed coalition government between the center-right parties Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, supported by the Greens.
PS at least someone from a country that survived the euro economic crisis.
