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The EU finance ministers are in Luxembourg, where they are meeting today as part of the Council of Finance Ministers. The meetings come at a time when most of the ministers are still busy finalizing their multi-annual fiscal plans. They have to draw up these plans for the first time this year in order to comply with the reformed fiscal rules. Yesterday, Monday, Greece became only the third government to submit its medium-term budget plan to the Commission.
Yesterday, the finance ministers discussed the current status of the Capital Markets Union – or rather: the standstill. The Spanish Minister for Economic Affairs, Carlos Cuerpo, made a new proposal to speed up the integration process. He wants to establish a new type of cooperation in the EU under the title “competitiveness lab.”
In this “lab,” groups of at least three member states, with the support of the Commission, are to test increased market integration in areas where progress at EU level has not yet been possible due to a lack of majorities. The Commission is to evaluate the experiment after a few years and, if successful, propose a regulation for the entire EU. As a concrete first example, Cuerpos mentioned the development of a European or partially European system for credit ratings. Standardized credit ratings should enable SMEs in particular to find cross-border financing.
Cuerpo’s idea is reminiscent of Bruno Le Maire’s initiative in February of this year to implement parts of the Capital Markets Union without the Member States that slow down the process. Following Le Maire’s failure, Cuerpo now wants to create a better regulated framework for future initiatives in this direction.
Have a resourceful Tuesday
When a politician takes on a powerful office, it sometimes brings to the fore those who still have unpaid bills to settle. In the case of Teresa Ribera, the future Executive Vice-President of the EU Commission, there are said to be billions in unpaid bills. “Ursula von der Leyen wants to lead a Commission of investments. But then the Commissioner responsible, Teresa Ribera, must also stand for reliable investment conditions,” says an energy manager.
The long-standing Spanish minister is criticized for the Sánchez government’s handling of claims for compensation from foreign investors. However, whether these claims will be met now also depends on a state aid investigation by the EU Commission. Ribera would therefore also bear responsibility for this in her future role.
“Since Teresa Ribera, as a former member of the Spanish government, is biased in this matter, she would do well not to interfere in this specific procedure and leave the matter to her departments,” says CSU MEP Markus Ferber about the Social Democratic PSOE politician.
But first things first. The mistrust in the energy sector towards Spanish politics goes back to the time before Ribera’s participation in government. During the financial and economic crisis, the Zapatero (PSOE) and Rajoy (PP) governments were overwhelmed by the subsidy commitments for renewable energies introduced in 2007. Subsidies and premiums were reduced in 2011 and 2013. In some cases, they also demanded the return of investment incentives that had already been granted. In normal times, however, backward interventions by economic politicians are considered the devil’s work – for fear that investments will fail to materialize in the future.
Investors also complained and chose the supposedly easy route via international arbitration tribunals, invoking investment protection in the controversial Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). “Enforcement of the ECT’s guarantees before national courts is not excluded, but does not offer the advantages of arbitration,” writes Taylor Wessing to potential clients.
According to the Spanish newspaper “El País,” more than 50 lawsuits have been filed, with claims initially amounting to €10.6 billion. German companies are among those affected, including Baywa, Eon, LBBW, RWE, Steag and Stadtwerke München. Many of the lawsuits are before the World Bank’s ICSID arbitration court.
After Ribera became Minister for Ecological Change in 2018, her officials proudly announced in the press that the claims had since been reduced to twelve percent of the claims. This was achieved through the arbitration awards themselves and through a 2019 law that guaranteed affected parties a return of over seven percent until 2031 if they dropped their claims. In the end, a maximum of €2 billion would remain of the original claims, Ribera’s ministries estimated.
The Spanish Ministry of Justice used all available means to fend off the claims. It was able to have at least two unfavorable arbitration awards declared null and void by the arbitration courts. Madrid is also taking legal action against the enforcement of compensation claims abroad. According to the report by “El País” from March 2023, Spain has not “paid a single euro.”
However, decisions by the ECJ and the Directorate-General for Competition, for which Ribera will soon be responsible, will also have a major influence on the plaintiffs’ future prospects of success. The European judges had already ruled in 2018 in the Achmea case that arbitration agreements in an investment protection treaty are incompatible with EU law when it comes to disputes between EU states. However, Taylor Wessing thinks that ICSID arbitration awards are binding under international law.
The EU Commission has in turn been examining the consequences of the Antin v. Spain case under state aid law since 2021. For the time being, the competition authorities have concluded that the compensation payments awarded constitute state aid. One of the many stumbling blocks for investors: the Spanish subsidy scheme from 2007 had never been notified to Brussels for approval under state aid rules. The Dutch-Luxembourgish company could therefore claim an undue advantage compared to the subsidy in force since 2013.
Critics see this procedure as the central conflict of interest for the future Competition Commissioner Ribera. In view of the large number of ongoing arbitration proceedings, it is to be expected that Spain and the EU Commission will further delay a decision or even refrain from making one altogether, according to a paper by one of the companies concerned. This could have a significant negative impact on future willingness to invest.
Words of warning also come from the Green Group in the European Parliament. “I expect an EU competition commissioner to act in the European interest,” says MEP Damian Boeselager (Volt), the first deputy chairman of the economic committee responsible for state aid.
“It must be clear that national subsidies should guarantee clear predictability for all players, including those from other EU countries. I cannot anticipate the assessment of the Directorate-General for Competition, but at first glance, it is not the task of state aid law to prevent compensation payments, which should be attributed to real damage,” says Boeselager.
However, neither he nor Ferber express any fundamental doubts about Ribera’s suitability for her future office. State aid expert Ferber also sees nothing unusual in the long duration of the investigation into the Antin case: “This is a rather complex situation involving the interplay between European and international law, which will most likely end up before the ECJ at some point. All the more reason to be careful and circumspect.”
It was a strange company in which Germany found itself with its no to the tariffs on e-cars from China. Alongside the German government, only Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Malta had voted against – for very different reasons. Chancellor Olaf Scholz won the applause of the German car manufacturers for the vote, which was pushed through in the coalition with the authority to issue directives. In Brussels and other EU countries, however, his actions were met with a shake of the head.
“Scholz made a theatrical statement in Berlin that impressed no one in the EU,” says Daniel Caspary, head of the CDU/CSU MEPs in the European Parliament. “He has made everyone aware of Germany’s powerlessness.”
The Chancellor had recently antagonized the EU partners by expressing harsh criticism of Italian Unicredit’s takeover plans for Commerzbank and ordering controls at all German borders. The customs vote defeat is now a clear indication of the state of his authority in the circle of European heads of state and government. In the run-up to the vote, Scholz had personally tried to persuade other colleagues to vote no – with little success.
His predecessor Angela Merkel had risen to become the most powerful woman in Europe during her time in office – decisions were rarely taken against her will in the European Council. Unlike Merkel, however, Scholz only makes an effort with the EU partners when he wants something from them, criticized a close observer. As a result, there is little willingness to accommodate the Chancellor when he raises a concern.
Merkel also spoke from a position of relative strength based on Germany’s economic success. The CDU politician was also able to count on EPP allies who dominated the EU institutions. SPD politician Scholz, on the other hand, has hardly any important allies in the Council apart from Spain’s Pedro Sánchez. The weakness of the German economy and the internal divisions within the coalition also make the Chancellor and the German government appear vulnerable, says Eric Maurice, analyst at the European Policy Center. “I don’t see that Scholz has comparable influence and authority.”
Germany’s lack of leadership is viewed less with glee than with concern in neighboring countries. “This is a real problem for Europe,” says one EU diplomat.
Others are trying to fill the gap. Not so much France’s President Emmanuel Macron, who is also struggling with home-made problems, as Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk or Ursula von der Leyen. The Commission President is vehemently pushing ahead with countervailing duties against e-cars from China. “Von der Leyen’s position appears much stronger than it actually is or can be,” says British historian Peter Ludlow.
Von der Leyen wants to send a signal of strength with the tariffs in order to finally persuade Beijing to make concessions, and not just in the automotive industry. European complaints about unfair competition have not impressed the Chinese leadership in recent years. To impress Beijing, however, the Commission needs the backing of the EU states. “Voting no in such a constellation signals that Germany is breaking European unity,” criticized Merics analyst Abigaël Vasselier. Berlin is thus opening Pandora’s box.
Other governments also fear Chinese retaliation. They abstained from the vote without undermining the Commission’s negotiating position. For Scholz, however, the concerns of the already weakening car industry took priority: “The German government seems particularly keen to avoid further risks,” says Maurice. “It is prioritizing short-term problems over long-term challenges.”
The Chancellor’s comments on Unicredit’s takeover plans for Commerzbank irritated Italy as well as other countries. Italian businesswoman Emma Marcegaglia criticized last week in Berlin that one cannot only be in favor of pan-European banks if the consolidation takes place under German leadership.
According to experts, Scholz’s comments undermine his own political initiatives to deepen the banking and capital markets union. The Commerzbank case is “a real test for the banking union and for the seriousness of politicians as to whether they believe what they say,” says Nicolas Verón, Senior Fellow at the think tank Bruegel.
Officially, the Irish have taken it sportingly. The government in Dublin had actually sought an economic or financial portfolio in the European Commission for Michael McGrath. As a former finance minister, Michael McGrath seemed to be a suitable candidate with his experience and expertise in economic matters. Accordingly, the Irish government lobbied for such a portfolio.
However, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen decided otherwise and chose McGrath for the Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law portfolio. This is “a strong and influential appointment,” praised Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Simon Harris after the announcement.
McGrath himself also found diplomatic words. Ireland and he had been assigned a “very significant and important portfolio” and the President clearly had confidence in him personally to fulfill this complex and demanding task. “In more than 50 years of membership, this is the first time that an Irish candidate has been entrusted with this task.” He did not specify whether this was good or bad news. However, he let it be known that he was looking forward to his tasks.
This reaction seems typical of the politician McGrath, who likes to take a pragmatic and rather reserved approach. The man from County Cork shows little interest in political tactics and instead focuses on substantive work. However, this could well be a disadvantage in Brussels. Critics doubt whether he can successfully establish himself in the complex power structures of the EU Commission with his reserved manner.
In July 2024, McGrath visited Brussels to prepare for his new role. He spoke with Irish MEPs but refrained from meeting Ursula von der Leyen, which might have given him more leeway in negotiating his portfolio.
Michael McGrath can look back on a long political career in Ireland. From 2022 to 2024, he led the Department of Finance in Ireland and played a key role in stabilizing the country’s economy following the challenges posed by the pandemic. Under his leadership, Ireland reduced gross public debt to around €223 billion by the end of 2023 compared to €236 billion at the end of 2021, but this was still around €20 billion higher than just before the pandemic.
While the minister was praised for his prudent fiscal management and stabilization of public finances, structural challenges such as dependence on volatile corporate tax revenues remained.
In his new role as EU Commissioner, McGrath faces other challenges. He is to lead the European Democracy Shield project, to which Ursula von der Leyen attaches great importance in her second term of office. She wants to use it to combat disinformation and foreign influence on democratic processes. In view of the growing digital threats, this initiative is intended to safeguard the integrity of democratic elections in Europe. McGrath is also tasked with monitoring the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the member states. This is not without irony, given the controversial role Ireland has played in the interpretation of the GDPR to date.
However, his mission also includes three other tasks: Firstly, integrating the single market into the rule of law, with McGrath expected to focus primarily on the challenges faced by SMEs operating across borders. Secondly, he is to take care of consumer protection and develop the next consumer protection agenda for 2025 to 2030. Finally, McGrath will be entrusted with the promotion of innovative companies. He is to ensure an EU-wide, harmonized legal environment that makes it easier for innovative companies to develop and expand.
His time as Finance Minister prepared McGrath for the economic aspects of his new role. Nevertheless, the topics of the rule of law and consumer protection are new territory for him. His many years of experience in the Irish Parliament (Dáil Éireann) could help him to quickly familiarize himself with the complex European issues. McGrath has been a member of Parliament for the liberal-conservative Fianna Fáil party, which is part of the European Renew Group, since 2007. He is regarded as a reliable partner in coalitions and demonstrated his ability to successfully find compromises in a three-party coalition in Ireland.
Michael McGrath grew up in the port town of Passage West in Cork County. Before entering national politics, he worked in local government. He graduated with distinction in commerce from University College Cork and subsequently qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG. Before entering politics full-time, he held senior positions in the private sector.
McGrath often emphasizes the great importance that family values and his family have for him. He has seven children with his wife Sarah, whom he met at KPMG and who is also a chartered accountant. When he presented the first budget in his role as Minister of Finance, the whole family appeared in the Irish Parliament. His down-to-earth and pragmatic style make him a respected, if less charismatic, figure in Irish politics. However, he must now prove whether he can assert himself in Brussels. Corinna Visser
The EU finance ministers are in Luxembourg, where they are meeting today as part of the Council of Finance Ministers. The meetings come at a time when most of the ministers are still busy finalizing their multi-annual fiscal plans. They have to draw up these plans for the first time this year in order to comply with the reformed fiscal rules. Yesterday, Monday, Greece became only the third government to submit its medium-term budget plan to the Commission.
Yesterday, the finance ministers discussed the current status of the Capital Markets Union – or rather: the standstill. The Spanish Minister for Economic Affairs, Carlos Cuerpo, made a new proposal to speed up the integration process. He wants to establish a new type of cooperation in the EU under the title “competitiveness lab.”
In this “lab,” groups of at least three member states, with the support of the Commission, are to test increased market integration in areas where progress at EU level has not yet been possible due to a lack of majorities. The Commission is to evaluate the experiment after a few years and, if successful, propose a regulation for the entire EU. As a concrete first example, Cuerpos mentioned the development of a European or partially European system for credit ratings. Standardized credit ratings should enable SMEs in particular to find cross-border financing.
Cuerpo’s idea is reminiscent of Bruno Le Maire’s initiative in February of this year to implement parts of the Capital Markets Union without the Member States that slow down the process. Following Le Maire’s failure, Cuerpo now wants to create a better regulated framework for future initiatives in this direction.
Have a resourceful Tuesday
When a politician takes on a powerful office, it sometimes brings to the fore those who still have unpaid bills to settle. In the case of Teresa Ribera, the future Executive Vice-President of the EU Commission, there are said to be billions in unpaid bills. “Ursula von der Leyen wants to lead a Commission of investments. But then the Commissioner responsible, Teresa Ribera, must also stand for reliable investment conditions,” says an energy manager.
The long-standing Spanish minister is criticized for the Sánchez government’s handling of claims for compensation from foreign investors. However, whether these claims will be met now also depends on a state aid investigation by the EU Commission. Ribera would therefore also bear responsibility for this in her future role.
“Since Teresa Ribera, as a former member of the Spanish government, is biased in this matter, she would do well not to interfere in this specific procedure and leave the matter to her departments,” says CSU MEP Markus Ferber about the Social Democratic PSOE politician.
But first things first. The mistrust in the energy sector towards Spanish politics goes back to the time before Ribera’s participation in government. During the financial and economic crisis, the Zapatero (PSOE) and Rajoy (PP) governments were overwhelmed by the subsidy commitments for renewable energies introduced in 2007. Subsidies and premiums were reduced in 2011 and 2013. In some cases, they also demanded the return of investment incentives that had already been granted. In normal times, however, backward interventions by economic politicians are considered the devil’s work – for fear that investments will fail to materialize in the future.
Investors also complained and chose the supposedly easy route via international arbitration tribunals, invoking investment protection in the controversial Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). “Enforcement of the ECT’s guarantees before national courts is not excluded, but does not offer the advantages of arbitration,” writes Taylor Wessing to potential clients.
According to the Spanish newspaper “El País,” more than 50 lawsuits have been filed, with claims initially amounting to €10.6 billion. German companies are among those affected, including Baywa, Eon, LBBW, RWE, Steag and Stadtwerke München. Many of the lawsuits are before the World Bank’s ICSID arbitration court.
After Ribera became Minister for Ecological Change in 2018, her officials proudly announced in the press that the claims had since been reduced to twelve percent of the claims. This was achieved through the arbitration awards themselves and through a 2019 law that guaranteed affected parties a return of over seven percent until 2031 if they dropped their claims. In the end, a maximum of €2 billion would remain of the original claims, Ribera’s ministries estimated.
The Spanish Ministry of Justice used all available means to fend off the claims. It was able to have at least two unfavorable arbitration awards declared null and void by the arbitration courts. Madrid is also taking legal action against the enforcement of compensation claims abroad. According to the report by “El País” from March 2023, Spain has not “paid a single euro.”
However, decisions by the ECJ and the Directorate-General for Competition, for which Ribera will soon be responsible, will also have a major influence on the plaintiffs’ future prospects of success. The European judges had already ruled in 2018 in the Achmea case that arbitration agreements in an investment protection treaty are incompatible with EU law when it comes to disputes between EU states. However, Taylor Wessing thinks that ICSID arbitration awards are binding under international law.
The EU Commission has in turn been examining the consequences of the Antin v. Spain case under state aid law since 2021. For the time being, the competition authorities have concluded that the compensation payments awarded constitute state aid. One of the many stumbling blocks for investors: the Spanish subsidy scheme from 2007 had never been notified to Brussels for approval under state aid rules. The Dutch-Luxembourgish company could therefore claim an undue advantage compared to the subsidy in force since 2013.
Critics see this procedure as the central conflict of interest for the future Competition Commissioner Ribera. In view of the large number of ongoing arbitration proceedings, it is to be expected that Spain and the EU Commission will further delay a decision or even refrain from making one altogether, according to a paper by one of the companies concerned. This could have a significant negative impact on future willingness to invest.
Words of warning also come from the Green Group in the European Parliament. “I expect an EU competition commissioner to act in the European interest,” says MEP Damian Boeselager (Volt), the first deputy chairman of the economic committee responsible for state aid.
“It must be clear that national subsidies should guarantee clear predictability for all players, including those from other EU countries. I cannot anticipate the assessment of the Directorate-General for Competition, but at first glance, it is not the task of state aid law to prevent compensation payments, which should be attributed to real damage,” says Boeselager.
However, neither he nor Ferber express any fundamental doubts about Ribera’s suitability for her future office. State aid expert Ferber also sees nothing unusual in the long duration of the investigation into the Antin case: “This is a rather complex situation involving the interplay between European and international law, which will most likely end up before the ECJ at some point. All the more reason to be careful and circumspect.”
It was a strange company in which Germany found itself with its no to the tariffs on e-cars from China. Alongside the German government, only Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Malta had voted against – for very different reasons. Chancellor Olaf Scholz won the applause of the German car manufacturers for the vote, which was pushed through in the coalition with the authority to issue directives. In Brussels and other EU countries, however, his actions were met with a shake of the head.
“Scholz made a theatrical statement in Berlin that impressed no one in the EU,” says Daniel Caspary, head of the CDU/CSU MEPs in the European Parliament. “He has made everyone aware of Germany’s powerlessness.”
The Chancellor had recently antagonized the EU partners by expressing harsh criticism of Italian Unicredit’s takeover plans for Commerzbank and ordering controls at all German borders. The customs vote defeat is now a clear indication of the state of his authority in the circle of European heads of state and government. In the run-up to the vote, Scholz had personally tried to persuade other colleagues to vote no – with little success.
His predecessor Angela Merkel had risen to become the most powerful woman in Europe during her time in office – decisions were rarely taken against her will in the European Council. Unlike Merkel, however, Scholz only makes an effort with the EU partners when he wants something from them, criticized a close observer. As a result, there is little willingness to accommodate the Chancellor when he raises a concern.
Merkel also spoke from a position of relative strength based on Germany’s economic success. The CDU politician was also able to count on EPP allies who dominated the EU institutions. SPD politician Scholz, on the other hand, has hardly any important allies in the Council apart from Spain’s Pedro Sánchez. The weakness of the German economy and the internal divisions within the coalition also make the Chancellor and the German government appear vulnerable, says Eric Maurice, analyst at the European Policy Center. “I don’t see that Scholz has comparable influence and authority.”
Germany’s lack of leadership is viewed less with glee than with concern in neighboring countries. “This is a real problem for Europe,” says one EU diplomat.
Others are trying to fill the gap. Not so much France’s President Emmanuel Macron, who is also struggling with home-made problems, as Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk or Ursula von der Leyen. The Commission President is vehemently pushing ahead with countervailing duties against e-cars from China. “Von der Leyen’s position appears much stronger than it actually is or can be,” says British historian Peter Ludlow.
Von der Leyen wants to send a signal of strength with the tariffs in order to finally persuade Beijing to make concessions, and not just in the automotive industry. European complaints about unfair competition have not impressed the Chinese leadership in recent years. To impress Beijing, however, the Commission needs the backing of the EU states. “Voting no in such a constellation signals that Germany is breaking European unity,” criticized Merics analyst Abigaël Vasselier. Berlin is thus opening Pandora’s box.
Other governments also fear Chinese retaliation. They abstained from the vote without undermining the Commission’s negotiating position. For Scholz, however, the concerns of the already weakening car industry took priority: “The German government seems particularly keen to avoid further risks,” says Maurice. “It is prioritizing short-term problems over long-term challenges.”
The Chancellor’s comments on Unicredit’s takeover plans for Commerzbank irritated Italy as well as other countries. Italian businesswoman Emma Marcegaglia criticized last week in Berlin that one cannot only be in favor of pan-European banks if the consolidation takes place under German leadership.
According to experts, Scholz’s comments undermine his own political initiatives to deepen the banking and capital markets union. The Commerzbank case is “a real test for the banking union and for the seriousness of politicians as to whether they believe what they say,” says Nicolas Verón, Senior Fellow at the think tank Bruegel.
Officially, the Irish have taken it sportingly. The government in Dublin had actually sought an economic or financial portfolio in the European Commission for Michael McGrath. As a former finance minister, Michael McGrath seemed to be a suitable candidate with his experience and expertise in economic matters. Accordingly, the Irish government lobbied for such a portfolio.
However, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen decided otherwise and chose McGrath for the Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law portfolio. This is “a strong and influential appointment,” praised Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Simon Harris after the announcement.
McGrath himself also found diplomatic words. Ireland and he had been assigned a “very significant and important portfolio” and the President clearly had confidence in him personally to fulfill this complex and demanding task. “In more than 50 years of membership, this is the first time that an Irish candidate has been entrusted with this task.” He did not specify whether this was good or bad news. However, he let it be known that he was looking forward to his tasks.
This reaction seems typical of the politician McGrath, who likes to take a pragmatic and rather reserved approach. The man from County Cork shows little interest in political tactics and instead focuses on substantive work. However, this could well be a disadvantage in Brussels. Critics doubt whether he can successfully establish himself in the complex power structures of the EU Commission with his reserved manner.
In July 2024, McGrath visited Brussels to prepare for his new role. He spoke with Irish MEPs but refrained from meeting Ursula von der Leyen, which might have given him more leeway in negotiating his portfolio.
Michael McGrath can look back on a long political career in Ireland. From 2022 to 2024, he led the Department of Finance in Ireland and played a key role in stabilizing the country’s economy following the challenges posed by the pandemic. Under his leadership, Ireland reduced gross public debt to around €223 billion by the end of 2023 compared to €236 billion at the end of 2021, but this was still around €20 billion higher than just before the pandemic.
While the minister was praised for his prudent fiscal management and stabilization of public finances, structural challenges such as dependence on volatile corporate tax revenues remained.
In his new role as EU Commissioner, McGrath faces other challenges. He is to lead the European Democracy Shield project, to which Ursula von der Leyen attaches great importance in her second term of office. She wants to use it to combat disinformation and foreign influence on democratic processes. In view of the growing digital threats, this initiative is intended to safeguard the integrity of democratic elections in Europe. McGrath is also tasked with monitoring the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the member states. This is not without irony, given the controversial role Ireland has played in the interpretation of the GDPR to date.
However, his mission also includes three other tasks: Firstly, integrating the single market into the rule of law, with McGrath expected to focus primarily on the challenges faced by SMEs operating across borders. Secondly, he is to take care of consumer protection and develop the next consumer protection agenda for 2025 to 2030. Finally, McGrath will be entrusted with the promotion of innovative companies. He is to ensure an EU-wide, harmonized legal environment that makes it easier for innovative companies to develop and expand.
His time as Finance Minister prepared McGrath for the economic aspects of his new role. Nevertheless, the topics of the rule of law and consumer protection are new territory for him. His many years of experience in the Irish Parliament (Dáil Éireann) could help him to quickly familiarize himself with the complex European issues. McGrath has been a member of Parliament for the liberal-conservative Fianna Fáil party, which is part of the European Renew Group, since 2007. He is regarded as a reliable partner in coalitions and demonstrated his ability to successfully find compromises in a three-party coalition in Ireland.
Michael McGrath grew up in the port town of Passage West in Cork County. Before entering national politics, he worked in local government. He graduated with distinction in commerce from University College Cork and subsequently qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG. Before entering politics full-time, he held senior positions in the private sector.
McGrath often emphasizes the great importance that family values and his family have for him. He has seven children with his wife Sarah, whom he met at KPMG and who is also a chartered accountant. When he presented the first budget in his role as Minister of Finance, the whole family appeared in the Irish Parliament. His down-to-earth and pragmatic style make him a respected, if less charismatic, figure in Irish politics. However, he must now prove whether he can assert himself in Brussels. Corinna Visser