The other job opening at the Eurogroup

Thomas Wieser leaves big shoes to fill at top of eurozone’s technical body.

The eurozone’s laboratory for sovereign bailouts will lose its chief economic expert when Thomas Wieser retires in six months, sparking a fresh scramble among EU governments for influence inside the Brussels bubble.

Wieser, the president of the Euro Working Group (EWG) and the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC) of the European Council, recently told eurozone diplomats at a dinner that he would step down when his mandate ends in January 2018, according to people familiar with the situation.

He made his announcement once the working dinner arrived at the “any other business” point of the evening’s agenda, confirming a rumor that many officials had heard circulating within the halls of the Council.

Wieser’s exit, along with that of Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem, currently the Netherlands’ caretaker finance minister, will bring an end to one of the body’s most eventful chapters.

Dijsselbloem’s role as Eurogroup head gained widespread attention during EU creditors’ repeated bailouts of Greece and hair-raising attempts to hold the euro together. But it’s Wieser who has been central to the technical discussions surrounding the five bailout deals and crisis talks, which helped hold the eurozone countries together.

Wieser’s work as EWG chief underpins the political discourse among eurozone finance ministers, who regularly meet behind closed doors to discuss the economic and financial affairs of the countries sharing Europe’s single currency.

For example, it was Wieser who first met with Greece’s then Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis when the left-wing party Syriza came to power in 2015. Djisselbloem arrived in Athens only after the Austrian established the first contact.

As the head of the EFC, Wieser sets the EU’s financial and economic agenda — a role that the now President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi once held.

“He has the confidence of all [parties],” said a Commission official, who requested anonymity. “He can put himself in the shoes of anyone and anticipate their reaction, which allows him to come up with compromises that were essential for helping us get through the storm of the sovereign crisis.”

“He has this sense of empathy,” the official added. “It’s a key attribute for his successor [to have].”

The Austrian has headed the Euro Working Group and the Economic and Financial Committee since 2011 and 2012, respectively. It’s unclear what Wieser wants to do once he steps down from the positions.

What is clear from the accounts of multiple diplomats is that his departure will open up two positions that exert significant influence within the EU. The process of finding a successor for both roles is expected to begin “in October or November,” one diplomat said.

Countries have yet to present their candidates for the jobs, which will most likely be held by one person. But among the top picks is French Director General of the Treasury Odile Renaud Basso, who several officials pointed to as one of the strongest contenders to take over from Wieser.

French representatives in Brussels declined to comment. Yet one French official argued that “France is under-represented within the [eurozone’s] economic fora.”

Rumors of French interest, however, have sparked some concern among smaller eurozone countries. Two diplomats expressed their worry about a backroom deal among the likes of Germany, France, and Spain, which are all jockeying for powerful positions within the Eurogroup and the ECB.

Instead, they hope that Wieser’s successor will be subject to a legitimate process that will deliver a worthy president, based on competence and respectability — like the retiring Austrian.