MNI: SOURCES: French FinMin Aiming For Eurogroup Top Job

-The French minister has a strong profile for the position 

-But French public deficit is a concern

By Jean Comte

     BRUSSELS (MNI) - French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire is aiming to

succeed Jeroen Dijsselbloem as the head of the Eurogroup when his term finishes

at the end of the year, sources have told MNI.

     The elections are slated for early December and while there is no official

candidate, Le Maire is considered a strong candidate. He spent the last

Eurogroup meeting speaking English with journalists and highlighting the

comprehensive reforms undertaken by his government.

     Le Maire has several advantages. First of all he comes from a country which

does not hold the Presidency of any other EU institution. 

     Luxembourg's Pierre Gramegna, who is also said to be aiming for the

position, is debarred by the fact that EU Commission's president Jean-Claude

Juncker is also Luxembourgish. The same is true for Italy's Carlo Padoan, who

comes from the same country as European Central Bank head Mario Draghi and EU

Parliament President Antonio Tajani.

     Secondly, Le Maire does not belong to the right-wing Europe People's Party

(EPP) which already holds the EU Commission, the EU Parliament and the EU

Council - through Donald Tusk, from Poland. Though a right-wing politician, he

was thrown out of his party when he joined Emmanuel's Macron government, which

presents itself as centrist.

     Finally, his government is, for now, viewed favourably in Berlin, thanks to

its push for reforms and its will to escape the excessive deficit procedure,

though Chancellor Angela Merkel's could hamper the appointment procedure. 

     One caveat is that France's trajectory to reduce its structural deficit is

not in line with what the EU treaty requires, something that could undermine the

credibility of his candidacy.

     -Euro-Working Group and ECB

     The renewal of the Eurogroup's presidency position must also be seen in

conjunction with two other key positions that will be open soon : the head of

the Euro-Working group, and the vice-presidency of the European Central Bank.

Both appear for now to be out of French hands, leaving the way for Le Maire to

get hold of the Eurogroup presidency.

     The Euro-Working Group is the member states technical group tasked with

preparing Eurogroup meetings. It has been chaired over for 5 years by Austrian

official Thomas Wieser, who will leave in January.

     Finnish official Tuomas Saarenheimo is said to be the main contender.

French director of Treasury Odile Renaud-Basso was seen as favourite until

recently, but a high-level official told MNI she "does not want the job".

     The ECB vice-presidency will be up for grabs in Spring 2018. According to

one EU official, Spanish Finance minister Luis de Guindos is aiming to get it

and is therefore not interested by the Eurogroup's presidency. He was the main

contender against Dijsselbloem in June 2015 when the Dutch minister got

re-elected.

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2223; email: david.robinson@marketnews.com

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