Greek Minister, at the head of the Eurogroup - "An important stage for Greece after years of crisis"
Greece's finance minister has been named head of the Eurogroup, the body that helps shape eurozone policies. It underscores the country's turnaround after years of crisis when it was on the verge of leaving the single currency. Kyriakos Pierrakakis beat out a rival Belgian candidate to become president of the assembly of finance ministers, leading the 20 countries that use the euro.
Greece was financially rescued three times between 2010 and 2015 by eurozone governments to avoid economic collapse, after years of excessive borrowing and high spending.
The country now has sustained economic growth above 2%, the highest investment rates in the eurozone, a budget surplus and public debt that, although still the highest in Europe, has been shrinking at a rapid pace for years.
"This vote is an important symbolic moment for Greece and the eurozone. We all remember the deep financial crisis that Greece experienced and even its continued membership in the eurozone was called into question," European Commissioner for the Economy, Valdis Dombrovskis, said at a press conference.
"Now we see an extraordinary turnaround, with Greece among the most successful economies in the eurozone, with a fiscal surplus and now with a Greek finance minister at the head of the Eurogroup," he added.
The Eurogroup brings together the finance ministers of the 20 countries that share the EU's single currency and meets once a month ahead of broader formal talks of the bloc's 27 finance ministers.
Kyriakos Pierrakakis became Greece's finance minister earlier this year. In his previous role as minister of digital governance in the 2019–2023 government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, he led the digitalization process as the country emerged from the 2009–2018 debt crisis.
Pierrakakis will take office on December 12 and serve a two-and-a-half-year term.
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