Greece’s Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis has been elected the new chief of the Eurogroup in Brussels early Thursday evening, local time.
42-year-old Pierrakakis was elected unanimously by the 20 finance ministers of the eurozone, after his competitor, Belgian Budget Minister Vincent van Peteghem withdrew his candidacy, state broadcaster ERT reported.
Pierrakakis victory is considered as a strong message for the course of the Greek economy, 15 years after the country’s financial collapse.
The new Eurogroup president assumes office the next day, December 12, and the term of the new president is 2.5 years. The President is elected by a simple majority of the votes of the eurozone finance ministers-that is, with at least 11 out of 20 votes.
It is certainly a historic day for Greece.
