Greek Finance Minister Named Eurogroup President, Highlighting Nation’s Economic Turnaround
- Chalani Himasha
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
Himasha Dissanayake, JadeTimes Staff
H. Dissanayake is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Economy
Image Source: REUTERS/Yves Herman
Greek finance minister, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, was on Thursday appointed president of the Eurogroup, marking a significant milestone in the country’s recovery from its years of financial turmoil.
Pierrakakis, a 42-year-old computer scientist, defeated Belgian deputy prime minister Vincent Van Peteghem to lead the assembly of finance ministers from the 20 countries that share the euro. His appointment underscores Greece’s dramatic economic turnaround following the three international bailouts it received between 2010 and 2015 to prevent collapse amid years of excessive borrowing and overspending.
Today, Greece enjoys steady economic growth above 2%, the highest investment rates in the euro zone, budget surpluses, and a steadily declining, though still highest in Europe, public debt.
European Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis emphasized the symbolic importance of Pierrakakis’ election, noting, “We all remember the deep financial crisis that Greece had to go through, and even questions were raised about Greece's continued membership in the euro area. Now we see a remarkable turnaround with Greece being among the euro area's best performing economies with a fiscal surplus and now with a Greek finance minister as the president of the Eurogroup.”
As Eurogroup President, Pierrakakis will represent the euro area at G7 finance ministers’ meetings, shape the agenda for monthly meetings, and work to build consensus among member states.
European Council President Antonio Costa also lauded the appointment, stating on X, “Your election today as President of the Eurogroup, dear Kyriakos Pierrakakis, is a meaningful recognition of that progress, both for your country and for our Union.”
Pierrakakis became Greek finance minister earlier this year, after serving as the country’s digital governance minister from 2019 to 2023, where he led the digitization of state functions as Greece recovered from the 2009-2018 debt crisis.
