The Irish Independent's View: Duty calls for Paschal Donohoe whose Eurogroup role is worth its weight in gold to us
The Finance Minister was speaking at the Centre for Financial Studies of the Goethe University in Frankfurt, on the topic of 'Shaping tomorrow and navigating uncertainty: the future of the euro area'.
Given Donohoe is the current president of the Eurogroup, his views are keenly observed by the finance ministers of the 20 countries that use the euro.
In his address, Donohoe posed the question of why it is, at a time of rising populism, polarisation and fragmentation, that people increasingly trust the euro. He put it down to 'convenience, co-ordination, and confidence'.
'The euro is a powerful symbol of our shared sovereignty. A powerful symbol that you can feel in your wallet, see in your purse. People have confidence in the euro because they know we will defend and support it. They know we will progress and develop it,' he said.
The minister also set out his views on the need for the euro to continue to evolve, move forward and be ambitious. Despite having difficulty pronouncing the minister's first name, the chair of the Frankfurt event, former German central banker Professor Axel Weber, described Donohoe as the 'prime European finance diplomat.'
'You are not just a co-ordinator of your colleagues in finance and budget. You are the prime European finance diplomat. You really showed that you have a diplomatic skill in talking about the eurozone.
'We all appreciate that and I think it is the right focus. Europe needs to grow out of its own strengths, rather than the weakness of others. And I think that is a very well received but also worthy message to deliver.'
It's no coincidence Donohoe is upping his profile on the European stage at this time. His second term as Eurogroup president ends next month and the vote on who will take up the role for the next two-and-a-half years is due at the end of the month. He seems intent on a third term and nobody seems to be in any position to take him on as he is so well-regarded. Indeed, he is also among the favourites to become the European Central Bank president when Christine Lagarde's term ends in two years' time.
Donohoe's relationships with EU leaders are not just about personal career advancement. His eurozone networking is worth its weight in gold to Ireland as it places us at the heart of EU economic policy-making, perhaps not making the decisions, but at the very least having an influence on powerbrokers' deliberations. Donohoe's 'duty' to take up a third term will benefit Ireland's standing amongst our EU partners.
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