Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem gestures before a Eurogroup financial ministers meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels, capital of Belgium, Jan. 21, 2013. The new president of the Eurogroup to replace outgoing leader Jean-Claude Juncker will be appointed during the meeting, and Dijsselbloem is the only established candidate for the job. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan) |
Dutch FinMin Jeroen Dijsselbloem appointed new Eurogroup headBRUSSELS, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem has been appointed as the new head of the Eurogroup, said a statement of the Eurogroup after a meeting of eurozone finance ministers late Monday.
The 46-year-old Dutch politician has succeeded Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg who had been heading the group for eight years and throughout the debt crisis.
Despite the easing debt situation in the eurozone, Dijsselbloem said the single currency area must continue with economic reforms and stick to austerity measures.
"We now need to keep the momentum going, to ensure we retain the confidence we managed to regain in a lasting manner," he said in a letter to the Eurogroup before he was elected.
"Our focus needs to shift from crisis management to delivering and implementing sound medium-term policies," he added.
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