AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France (Reuters) – French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici poured cold water on a media report on Sunday that France and Germany could split between them the presidency of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers.
The mandate of the Eurogroup’s current chairman, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, expires at the end of the month, but officials signaled last month that his term could be extended.
Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine reported on Sunday that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande had agreed a compromise for a successor to Juncker as Eurogroup head involving a rotating chairmanship.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble would initially take over as Eurogroup chief, and Moscovici would then take over from him at mid-way point during his term, according to the report.
“I don’t know where this story is coming from. It’s not under consideration,” Moscovici told journalists on the sidelines of a conference in Aix-en-Provence, southern France.
Hollande, meanwhile, said there would be a “Franco-German” outcome to Juncker’s succession.
“We will all find a good solution once Mr. Juncker has finished his mandate – a Franco-German solution,” he told journalists on the sidelines of a meeting with Merkel in Reims, eastern France.
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