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Greek Finance Minister Attends First Eurogroup Meeting as President

Published January 19, 2026, 12:22
Greek Finance Minister Attends First Eurogroup Meeting as President

Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Minister of National Economy and Finance and the new President of the Eurogroup, is in Brussels for the first meetings of 2026. Discussions will focus on Bulgaria's accession to the Eurozone and the process of selecting a new Vice-President of the European Central Bank. Deputy Minister of Finance, Thanos Petralias, will also be present, representing Greece at Eurogroup meetings. The selection of a new ECB Vice-President is a central topic, as the term of the current Vice-President, Luis de Guindos, expires in May. Simultaneously, there will be a formal welcome for Bulgaria's entry into the Eurozone, and discussions on the Eurozone's priorities for 2026, as well as the outcomes of the G7 and the goals of the French Presidency. At the ECOFIN meeting, Finance Ministers will be briefed by the Cypriot Presidency on financial and tax matters. Efforts will be made to promote the Savings and Investments Union, the Capital Markets Union, and the EU Banking Union, while preparing the Council Recommendation for the EU budget for 2024 and guidelines for 2027. Furthermore, discussions will cover tax simplification, the revision of the directive on the taxation of tobacco products, the modernization of the Customs Union, and the completion of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism. The Council is expected to approve the conclusions of the Alert Mechanism Report (AMR), marking the start of the macroeconomic imbalance procedure. Finally, views will be exchanged on the economic impact of Russia's attack on Ukraine, and the provision of a €90 billion loan to Ukraine will be discussed.

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