Tuesday

6th Jun 2023

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

Become an expert on Europe

Get 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.

Analysis

Final steps for EU's due diligence on supply chains law

Final negotiations on the EU due diligence law begin this week. But will this law make companies embed due diligence requirements in their internal processes or incentive them to outsource their obligations to third parties?

Latest News

  1. Final steps for EU's due diligence on supply chains law
  2. Top EU court rules Poland's court reforms 'infringe law'
  3. Sweden's far-right is most anti-Green Deal party in EU
  4. Strengthening recovery, resilience and democracy in regions, cities and villages
  5. Why Hungary cannot be permitted to hold EU presidency
  6. Subcontracting rules allow firms to bypass EU labour rights
  7. Asylum and SLAPP positions in focus This WEEK
  8. Spanish PM to delay EU presidency speech due to snap election

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. InformaConnecting Expert Industry-Leaders, Top Suppliers, and Inquiring Buyers all in one space - visit Battery Show Europe.
  2. EFBWWEFBWW and FIEC do not agree to any exemptions to mandatory prior notifications in construction
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us