Spain's economy minister Calvino favourite to lead Eurogroup

A no vote by either party could trigger new elections. "HIGHLY COMPETENT" CALVINO The Eurogroup post has been vacant since Portuguese Finance Minister Mario Centeno announced earlier in June that he would not seek a second 2-1/2 year term. Brussels officials said the Spaniard had a good reputation.

Spain has proposed Economy Minister Nadia Calvino to head the influential Eurogroup of 19 eurozone finance ministers, the government said on Thursday, as Brussels officials tipped her to secure the job. Calvino, a technocrat who is also a deputy prime minister in Spain's minority left-wing coalition, is likely to face competition from center-right Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe. He was expected to put his name forward later on Thursday, according to a government source.

Proposals for the new Eurogroup chair, who will play a major role in recovery policies after the coronavirus crisis, must be submitted by the end of Thursday ahead of a July 9 vote. "It would be an honor for the Spanish government, and for me as its president, if Nadia Calvino were to take on the Presidency," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez tweeted. "For the first time, Spain and a woman would lead this institution."

Calvino, 51, an economist and former director-general for the European Commission's community budget, said she would seek prosperity for all Europeans. Donohoe's candidacy could be complicated by Friday's vote by his Fine Gael and two other Irish parties on a new government deal following an inconclusive February election. A no vote by either party could trigger new elections.

"HIGHLY COMPETENT" CALVINO The Eurogroup post has been vacant since Portuguese Finance Minister Mario Centeno announced earlier in June that he would not seek a second 2-1/2 year term.

Brussels officials said the Spaniard had a good reputation. "Calvino is highly competent... It makes sense to have the Eurogroup chair come from the south... Last but not least, she is a woman, and it's about time to break also this glass ceiling," one senior EU official said, predicting she would win.

"She is a good candidate, she is inventive and knows very well how to get to a deal," added another senior eurozone official. Filling the position fits into a broader round of negotiations for major European Union posts aiming to balance political leanings and regions.

Madrid has long wanted to chair the group but also has designs on the leadership of the World Trade Organisation for Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya. The Eurogroup's leader plays a crucial role in hammering out compromises on regional policies and chairs the board of the eurozone bailout fund.

An independent with moderate social democratic views, Calvino has been the minister since mid-June 2018. She has served as a counterweight in Sanchez's coalition to the hard-left Unidas Podemos.