Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

Eurogroup closes Schaeuble era

  • "For me it’s quite a good ending," said Schaeuble (c) before his last Eurogroup meeting. (Photo: Council of the EU)

The Eurogroup bade farewell to its longest-serving and most influential member on Monday (9 October), while preparing to also replace its chairman at the end of the year.

Germany's Wolfgang Schaeuble participated in his last meeting of eurozone finance ministers, after eight years in the post. He is now due to become president of the Bundestag, the German parliament's lower house, later this month.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • "Hopefully, in the January Eurogroup there will be a new chair," said Dijsselbloem, who is to lose his Dutch finance minister portfolio. (Photo: Council of the EU)

"We have succeeded in eight years of crisis to keep the euro stable against many expectations. So for me it's quite a good ending," Schaeuble told reporters before the meeting in Luxembourg when asked to comment on his legacy.

Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem praised Schaeuble's "authority" among his colleagues and noted that he was "very actively involved during all those crisis years in which the eurozone almost fell apart."

"I've always been convinced, even in the toughest discussions that we had … that he always put the long-term interest of a strong and stable eurozone first," Dijsselbloem, a close ally of the German minister, said.

Schaeuble's strict stance on austerity was often criticised, in particular in the case of the Greek crisis. In 2015, his attempt to expel Greece from the eurozone was rejected by EU leaders.

"Nothing will be quite the same again," Greek minister Euclid Tsakalotos wrote on an EU flag, together with messages from other colleagues, which was given to Schaeuble at the start of the meeting. The German minister also got a bottle of wine from his French colleague Bruno Le Maire and a euro banknote with his portrait on it from Slovakia's Peter Kazimir.

"It was a real moment of shared emotions," EU finance commissioner Pierre Moscovici said after the meeting. He also praised Schaeuble's "absolutely decisive contribution" to the Eurogroup.

Schaeuble's successor will be appointed when a coalition is formed in Berlin, most likely between chancellor Angela Merkel's christian-democrats, the liberals and the Greens. Talks will start on 18 October.

The finance portfolio is expected to go to a liberal. In the meantime, Merkel's right-hand man, Peter Altmeier, could become acting minister.

After Schaeuble, another key member of the Eurogroup will also leave at the end of the year.

New president

The group's president, Dijsselbloem, confirmed on Monday that he will lose his Dutch finance ministry portfolio later this month, when a new coalition government takes office in Netherlands.

Dijsselbloem's Labour party will not be part of coalition, whose programme is to be announced on Tuesday.

Dijsselbloem said that there was "unanimous support" from the Eurogroup for him to remain president until the end of his mandate in January.

His successor will be chosen on 4 December.

"Hopefully, in the January Eurogroup there will be a new chair," he said.

Candidates for his succession could include Kazimir, a social-democrat, and Le Maire, who was a centre-right minister before becoming an ally of French president Emmanuel Macron.

"There is a logic that there should be a social-democrat," Moscovici said, referring to the political "balance" between the top posts in EU institutions.

Since Antonio Tajani, from the centre-right EPP party, replaced social-democrat Martin Schulz as European Parliament president last January, the three main EU institutions are held by EPP politicians - Jean-Claude Juncker at the Commission and Donald Tusk at the Council.

Schaeuble said to want to split EU commission powers

German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble would like the competition and single market departments removed from the European Commission, according to a report in Germany's leading centre-right daily.

Schaeuble and Varoufakis: worlds apart

Washington got a snapshot of eurozone politics when the two protagonists in the Greek impasse voiced opposing world views at a think tank event on Thursday.

Analysis

Why did Schaeuble break the Greek bailout taboo?

German finance minster Schaeuble put a cat among the pigeons by saying Greece will need a third bailout, a taboo before September elections. But insiders say it was no accident.

Portuguese minister favourite in 'open' Eurogroup race

Mario Centeno has the backing of the Socialists who claim the post. But the Slovak and Latvian candidates could appeal to the supporters of fiscal discipline, while the Luxembourgish hopeful seems to be outdistanced.

Opinion

How the EU can raise its game in the Middle East

Could the EU repair its reputation and credibility by taking action on Gaza? EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, Spain, Belgium and Ireland, have worked hard to repair the damage, but have faced political headwinds due to internal divisions.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us