Why Donohoe is leading the race to fill his own job as Eurogroup head

Good morning. News to start: France is leading a renewed push for more joint EU debt as part of an effort to make the euro more attractive on international markets and raise its profile as a global reserve currency.

Today our finance correspondent reports on the week-long race to lead the Eurozone, and our climate correspondent has some positive EU bureaucracy news: thanks to Brussels your new phone lasts longer!

Have a fantastic weekend.

Starting gun

The race to lead the Eurozone has officially started, and it is Irish incumbent Paschal Donohoe’s to lose, writes Paola Tamma.

Context: Euro area finance ministers have until next Friday to put their name forward for the job, and will decide by a majority vote — 11 is the magic number — at their regular gathering in July.

The role, once a high-profile post and the face of the EU’s handling of the euro debt crisis, has in recent years become more of a co-ordinator of euro area fiscal policy, seeking to stir consensus on key files, with a mixed bag of results. 

An ambitious plan to complete the banking union was shot down by a series of objections from countries large and small, and a much more modest revision of rules concerning banks going into resolution is yet to be approved. Similarly, progress on the capital markets union has dwindled despite recent political momentum pushing it up the political agenda.

Five large countries — Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands — wrote in a paper seen by the Financial Times, that “the mandate of the next Eurogroup President will start at a critical juncture, from both a macroeconomic and geopolitical standpoint” and that “the Eurogroup must rise to these new challenges”.

They listed dos and don’ts for the next mandate — more focused discussions, fewer meetings, and no overlap with the workstream of the EU27 gathering of finance ministers.

Some of the signatories are pondering whether to enter the race themselves, while others are keeping their preference silent.

The Eurogroup needed to be “more efficient,” Spain’s Carlos Cuerpo said, adding Madrid had “not yet decided on the candidacy.” 

Germany’s Lars Klingbeil similarly said that “the Federal Government has not yet decided who it wants to support”.

Officials and the French and Italian finance ministries said they could not express a preference at the moment.

A dark horse candidate may emerge — Lithuania’s Rimantas Šadžius may decide to throw his hat in the ring, if anything to gather the social democratic votes around the table; Belgium’s Vincent Van Peteghem, another conservative, could also enter the race if he could gather sufficient support.

Nonetheless, the two-times Eurogroup president Donohoe says that he “welcomes the strong level of support that I’m getting from many colleagues at the moment,” and seems unconcerned about rival bids reaching 11 votes.

“We have that with some to spare!,” said a senior EU official familiar with the discussion. 

Chart du jour: Spike

Oil hit $79 a barrel yesterday for the first time since Israel attacked Iran last week as the conflict in the Middle East continues to escalate.

Recharged

If you’re buying a new smartphone in the EU, rejoice. From today, it should be more robust and have a longer batter life, writes Alice Hancock.

Context: New EU rules governing the design of products to make them more sustainable came into force last year as part of the bloc’s overarching Green Deal climate law. 

The legislation builds on energy efficiency measures and labels you may be familiar with on your washing machine or boiler, with specific measures for different types of products. Smartphones are one of the first groups to come under its governance. 

As of today, all smartphones and tablets sold in the EU will have to be able take 800 full charges while keeping 80 per cent of their original battery capacity. 

Smartphones will also have to be able to survive at least 45 accidental drops. And manufacturers will have to make software updates available for at least five years in effort to prevent planned obsolescence. 

Mathieu Rama, senior programme manager at the environmental NGO ECOS, said that meant that smartphones and tablets should “progressively last longer and be easier to repair” — “something we can really celebrate”. 

That’s not the endgame for sustainable smartphone design though. Smartphone makers will also have to prepare for the batteries regulation coming into force in 2027, which will force them to ensure that batteries can be extracted from your phone and replaced.

What to watch today

1. French, German, British foreign ministers and the EU’s chief diplomat meet their Iranian counterpart in Geneva.

2. EU finance ministers meet in Luxembourg.

3. European parliament president Roberta Metsola meets Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw.

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