Under the proposals, the EU’s informal gathering of eurozone finance ministers — the Eurogroup — could grow in stature to promote further integration among the 19 countries that use the single currency.
The plans call for merging the jobs of president of the Eurogroup and the European commissioner responsible for the economic and monetary union (EMU). That person would in effect (and perhaps even in title) be an EU finance minister.
A favored option in the Commission’s Berlaymont headquarters is creating a post that mirrors Federica Mogherini’s EU foreign affairs role. Instead of being an unpaid and scarcely resourced presidency, the Eurogroup would instead be run by someone with a foot in each of the Commission and Council camps. [...]
It’s part of Brussels’ attempts to build on a “Future of Europe” white paper released earlier this year and comes hot on the heels of Emmanuel Macron’s election as French president. Macron has called for a eurozone-specific budget managed by a eurozone finance minister. [...]
Meanwhile, according to Pierre Moscovici, the Commission’s economic and financial affairs czar, the European Parliament should have the power to demand hearings with the Eurogroup’s president to explain the decisions that eurozone finance ministers reach behind closed doors.
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