Remarks by Kyriakos Pierrakakis following the Eurogroup meeting of 19 January 2026 20:45 Remarks by Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pierrakakis on Bulgaria’s euro adoption, the[...]

First of all, let me start by saying that this was a historic occasion for Bulgaria, as it is from the 1 January 2026 the newest member of the euro area.

I was honoured to receive from Minister Petkova one of these coin kits that were made available in Bulgaria to help people get ready for the changeover.

I am reminded that the coins are the embodiment of our motto 'united in diversity': two sides - one European, one national. On several of these, you see a beautiful representation of the Madara Horseman, a UNESCO-listed rock relief sculpture from the 8th century.

Accordingly, we started off the discussions today with a debrief from Minister Petkova on her country's changeover to the euro. Bulgarians have been using euro notes and coins since 1 January 2026 as legal tender. The Eurogroup congratulates the Bulgarian authorities on a smoothly executed process.

The euro is at the heart of our European project as a pillar of economic stability and prosperity, bringing together now a total of 21 countries that use the common currency.

We moved on to a regular item for discussion: euro area governance. Every year, the Eurogroup agrees on a set of recommendations outlining the agreed priorities for the euro area for the period ahead and today ministers discussed the Commission's proposal for 2026. The focus is on competitiveness, resilience, and macroeconomic and financial stability of the euro area.

Our deputies and experts will now begin working with the aim of finalising the recommendations for agreement at our February meeting.

We then continued with the discussion on the latest developments at the level of the G7. We are in a highly volatile geopolitical context, where dialogue remains essential, and unity and coordination are key.

I debriefed my colleagues on the virtual meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors on 19 December, which marked the handover from the Canadian to the French Presidency of the Group. Minister Lescure set out his objectives for the year, focusing on global imbalances, international partnerships and balanced growth.

These priorities received strong support from colleagues today, and several are very relevant for the Eurogroup's ongoing work, particularly, I would say, those related to imbalances and growth. He also informed us about his intention to call a G7 finance ministers' meeting later this week.

Commissioner Dombrovskis also debriefed us on a ministerial-level meeting convened by the US Treasury last week on the issue of critical raw materials.

The global economy is facing multiple challenges: rising tariffs, industrial overcapacity, geopolitical tensions, the Russian war of aggression on our doorstep, and critical dependencies in areas such as technology, security and minerals. Many of these issues are de facto interconnected.

While our euro area economy has demonstrated remarkable resilience, we must recognise that resilience alone is not enough in the long run. We need to return to a path of sustainable economic growth and dynamism.

The Eurogroup is committed to doing its part. A strong starting point will be to agree on a robust set of priorities when we revisit the euro area recommendations next month, and, importantly, ensuring that we deliver upon these priorities.

The Eurogroup also agreed today to endorse Boris Vujčić, Governor of the Croatian National Bank, for the forthcoming ECB Vice-President vacancy.

I am pleased to report that we had an agreement on both the process and the person. I would say that this is a very important success, a sign of institutional maturity on the background of an exceptional number of candidates and past experiences, such as the one in 2012 where it took six months before consensus was found.

I would like to congratulate Boris Vujčić. I would also like to highlight the skills and the expertise of all the candidates and to thank them for their interest and commitment.

Tomorrow, I will inform the ECOFIN Council during breakfast, and the Council's established procedure to complete the formal recommendation will follow in due course. The final decision will be taken by the European Council after consultation with the ECB and the European Parliament. So, we are on track for Boris Vujčić to take up his position at the ECB as of 1 June 2026.

Before I close, I would just like to highlight that this was a special Eurogroup for me, the first time chairing the meeting since my election in December.

I am looking forward to working with my colleagues on delivering upon our common priorities and addressing the challenges ahead of us.