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Juncker to stay on as Eurogroup chief: sources

28 June 2012, 18:42 CET
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(BRUSSELS) - Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker is poised to win a further term as head of the eurozone group of finance ministers, several European sources said during an EU summit Thursday.

"We are heading towards reconfirming Juncker as head of the Eurogroup," a French diplomat said.

"That will happen tomorrow at a lunch for eurozone leaders. There's a strong likelihood Juncker will be reconfirmed," a second European source said.

A third European diplomat said the veteran European politician was likely to be asked to take on another term, but for a year rather than a full two and a half years.

The chain-smoking 57-year-old has been head of the Eurogroup since 2005 and his current term ends on July 17.

A staunchly pro-European politician, Juncker is considered to be one of the founding fathers of the euro currency and has been deeply affected by the crisis which has put the project he helped to begin at risk.

Finding a successor has been tricky as the most likely candidate, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, did not prove a universally popular choice.

The nomination of a Eurogroup chief is tied up with a raft of other jobs, including a spot on the six-person executive board of the European Central Bank, for which the favourite is Luxembourg central bank governor Yves Mersch.

"That would mean a lot of people from Luxembourg," quipped one diplomat.


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