On Thursday 11 December, the finance ministers of the euro area countries are invited to elect their future president from the two candidates in the running, Belgium’s Vincent Van Peteghem and Greece’s Kyriákos Pierrakákis (see EUROPE 13762/19).
This election, which comes after the surprise resignation of Irishman Paschal Donohoe who had just begun his third term (see EUROPE 13754/1), will take place by a simple majority of Member States. To be elected, a candidate must therefore obtain at least eleven votes from among the twenty ministers.
Following a presentation by the candidates of their work programme for the Eurogroup, the ministers will vote by secret ballot. Unless there is a tie, the candidate with the fewest votes should then withdraw from the race to allow the winner to be confirmed unanimously.
ESM. Following this election, the board of directors of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the Eurozone's permanent bailout fund, will meet to appoint its president, who will be the new president of the Eurogroup.
The distribution key for the financial contributions of the eurozone countries will also be finalised on this occasion, with Bulgaria joining the ESM capital and Latvia participating fully.
DBPs 2026. As part of the coordination of budgetary policies, the ministers will discuss the national draft budget plans for 2026 on the basis of the assessment provided by the European Commission for all euro area countries except Belgium and Spain (see EUROPE 13759/14).
They will adopt a specific declaration in which they will also give their views on the draft recommendation for socio-economic policies at the euro area level. In the European Commission’s view, a broadly neutral fiscal stance is appropriate for 2026, in line with 2025.
Read the draft recommendation for the euro area: https://aeur.eu/f/jnb
According to the EU institution, the growth in public spending in Croatia, Lithuania and Slovenia is higher than the trajectory agreed at European level. In addition, Malta and the Netherlands risk finding themselves in a situation of ‘serious non-compliance’ with the revised Stability and Growth Pact, even though their budgetary situation is considered to be solid overall, with public debt well below 60% of national GDP.
In France, where Parliament has not adopted the national budget for next year, the situation is creating “a little uncertainty”, noted a European source on Tuesday 9 December.
The European Commission is also recommending that the Council of the EU initiate an excessive deficit procedure against Finland.
View the assessments of the 2026 draft budgetary plans: https://aeur.eu/f/jnh
ECB. A procedural point will be made regarding the replacement of the ECB's vice-president, as Luis de Guindos' term of office ends at the end of May. Candidates have until 9 January to declare their interest. It will then be up to the Eurogroup to propose a name to the European Council.
IMF. Finally, the ministers will exchange views on the conclusions of the IMF report on the macroeconomic situation in the euro area.
They will note a convergence of views with the international organisation on the fact that the euro area economy has weathered the uncertainties better than initially expected. The IMF is also recommending that the twenty countries pursue prudent fiscal consolidation policies while investing massively in the defence sector. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)