Brussels, 25/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - The recent marathon talks on the Greek bailout plan have not prompted the President of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, to change his mind about his position. He argues that the leadership of this informal body must continue to be in the hands of a minister.
“It's about being a mediator. The Eurogroup is an informal group of ministers, it would be illogical for the European Commission to chair this meeting. The fact that it is a minister is an advantage, because he or she is experiencing the same situation”, the Dutch finance minister said on Tuesday 24 February, in response to a question by Tom Vandenkendelaere (EPP, Belgium), at an economic dialogue with the economic and monetary affairs committee of the EP. He acknowledged that it had been “difficult” to combine the chairmanship of the Eurogroup with his responsibilities as minister in the recent to-ing and fro-ing over the Greek bailout plan, which obliged the Eurogroup to meet four times in two weeks, with negotiations on the sideline of the European Council on top. He has only experienced such an intensive situation once before, during the negotiations for the Cypriot bailout plan in spring 2013. However, Dijsselbloem did not rule out the possibility that once his term in office comes to an end, this summer, it “could be the time to reassess the role of the presidency of the Eurogroup”.
Spain is currently bringing intense pressure to bear to take over the presidency of the Eurogroup, in which it has the support of Germany (see EUROPE 11141). However, general elections are to be held in Spain in the autumn. A poor showing in these elections for the Partido popular currently in power could have repercussions for the appointment of the future Eurogroup President. Appointing the Spanish Minister, Luis de Guindos, to an ongoing position would allow him to hold this office whatever the outcome of the general elections.
As regards budgetary macro-economic policy in the eurozone, Dijsselbloem said that current circumstances (falling energy prices, accommodating monetary policy) should not be used as a pretext to call a halt to reforms. He argues that the greatest challenges facing the countries of the eurozone are as follows: making the employment markets more efficient, the markets for products and services more competitive, creating a climate conducive to investment and transferring the tax burden of work into indirect taxation.
The President of the Eurogroup welcomes the European Commission's communication interpreting the flexibility laid down in the Stability and Growth Pact (see EUROPE 11229). This text is “very interesting, particularly for the countries not under an excessive deficit procedure”, as it establishes “a link between structural reforms and the positive impact of these reforms on the budget”, he said, referring to the reforms on “pensions and healthcare” as examples of extremely welcome reforms. (Translation from the original French version)