Brussels (AFP)

Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe (center right) was elected Thursday by his eurozone peers to the presidency of the Eurogroup, a key position at a time when the continent is facing the worst recession in its history.

"I am deeply honored," said Donohoe. "The challenges are high, but we will meet them."

The Irish won in the second round against the Spanish Nadia Calvino, member of a left government, which nevertheless enjoyed the support of France and Germany.

According to two sources, she had also obtained 9 votes out of 19 in the first round, after which the third candidate, the Luxembourg liberal Pierre Gramegna, had preferred to withdraw. Ten votes were required to win.

Donohoe, who will take office on Monday, was immediately congratulated by the current incumbent, Portuguese Mario Centeno, who leaves his chair after a presidency deemed dull, and the president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde.

At 45, the winner is considered to be a prudent manager, who has brought his country back in the right budgetary path after a severe recession.

He could boast before the election of "total support" of the EPP, the party which brings together the right at European level, and had presented himself as a "bridge builder" between the 19 countries of the euro zone.

His appointment, during a videoconference meeting, was deemed crucial at a time when the continent's economy was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

"European citizens are watching their national economies and the European economy, and they have become concerned, fearful for their future, their jobs and their income," said Mr Donohoe.

But "we have the capacity, and we have laid the foundation to overcome these challenges, and to prevail," he added.

He, whose country is home to the European headquarters of several American digital giants, opposed the proposed European tax on Gafa (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple).

- Essential role -

Elected for two and a half years, the head of the Eurogroup is among those whose voices count in Brussels, alongside the presidents of the three major EU institutions - Ursula von der Leyen (Commission), Charles Michel (Council ), David Sassoli (Parliament) - and Foreign Minister Josep Borrell.

Its mission is to chair the monthly meetings of ministers, the objective of which is to ensure the coordination of national economic policies.

The task proved to be essential during the Greek debt crisis. It is just as important when Europeans are trying to jointly revive economies hard hit by the virus: according to Brussels, the GDP of the euro zone could fall by 8.7% in 2020.

Nadia Calvino, 51, a former senior Commission official, was considered a favorite in the election, thanks to the support of Germany and France, the two main economies in the euro area.

If she won, she would have become the first woman to chair the Eurogroup.

But she had to face the opposition of the Netherlands and of several small countries in their wake, who considered it unsuitable for a position which requires forging compromises between the big financiers of the North, followers of budgetary discipline, and those from the South, with a more lax reputation.

The question of his nationality was all the more important as the Europeans were in the midst of negotiations on a massive plan to revive the Union's economy.

However, two main fronts oppose each other: the four so-called "frugal" countries - Netherlands, Austria, as well as Sweden and Denmark, outside the euro zone - very reserved on this project, and the countries of the South, Spain and Italy at the head, the big beneficiaries of a plan which foresees a big European loan.

For Pierre Gramegna, 62, a diplomat who has frequented the Eurogroup since 2013, this is a second failure, after his defeat in 2017 against Mario Centeno.

© 2020 AFP