Overview
- Pierrakakis, Greece’s 42-year-old finance minister, was chosen by his eurozone counterparts over Belgian budget minister Vincent Van Peteghem in a vote held in Brussels on Thursday.
- The leadership race followed the surprise resignation of Paschal Donohoe, who had led the Eurogroup since 2020 and was re-elected only months earlier.
- Belgium maintains firm opposition to an EU plan to back a loan to Kyiv with frozen Russian assets, warning of legal challenges and potential financial reprisals from Moscow.
- Most of the Russian assets at issue are held in Brussels by Euroclear, and the financing question is slated for discussion at a dinner of all EU finance ministers tonight and at an EU leaders’ summit next week.
- Separately, the Eurogroup has opened the process to nominate a successor to ECB Vice-President Luis de Guindos, whose term ends in May 2026.