On 25 June 2020, Pierre Gramegna, Minister of Finance of Luxembourg formally submitted his candidacy for the office of the President of the Eurogroup.
Pierre Gramegna has underlined the urgency for Europe “to rapidly regain the path of recovery” and “to revitalize its competitiveness, convergence and resilience, including by embracing the green and digital transitions.” In order to achieve this, the next President should aim at building bridges between “North and South and East and West”, so that the the “right conditions for a speedy upswing from an unprecedented sanitary crisis can be found.”
As the President of the Eurogroup, Minister would therefore devote his time and energy to “bring all sides together and carefully consider all aspects in order to find the golden mean acceptable to all”, and thus putting solutions together, that will be able to combine “European solidarity and national responsibility.”
Pierre Gramegna comments: “Through my candidacy, I am trying to play my part in contributing to more convergence and in finding consensus at a time when Europe is facing challenges of an unprecedented scale. I am convinced that the current crisis represents a unique opportunity for Europe and the Euro to emerge stronger and more united. ”
While the response to the economic challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic will constitute the prime focus in the coming months, the Minister identifies the work on the further deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union as one of the priority areas for the years to come. Another priority will be the further increase of the transparency of the Eurogroup in order to “strengthen its legitimacy in the eyes of European citizens”.
As Minister of Finance of Luxembourg, Pierre Gramegna, has been a member of the Eurogroup for over six years. He was appointed Minister of Finance of Luxembourg in 2013 as part of the country’s first three-way-coalition and he has been re-appointed Minister of Finance in 2018, following the 2018 legislative elections confirming the coalition government formed by the Democratic Party (DP), the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP) and the Green Party (déi gréng).
The election will take place at the next Eurogroup meeting on 9 July. The Eurogroup President chairs the monthly meetings of Euro Area finance ministers and presents the outcomes of the meetings to the public. In addition, the President represents the Euro Area in international fora. The election takes place through a simple majority vote for a term of 2 ½ years, with the duties of the President being carried out alongside the national mandate as Minister of Finance.
Press release by the Ministry of Finance