I already presented my reservations against the appointment of Dutch Minister of Finance, Jeroen Dijsselbloem (Labour Party) as President of the Eurogroup. The public outrage following the bankruptcy of the banking sector in Cyprus has raised new questions concerning his ‘presidency’ (for which in Dutch the more modest ‘chairmanship’ is used). My initial doubts concerned the question whether this prestigious position would be in the interest of the Netherlands – and I was bold enough to propose Olli Rehn as possible candidate for a permanent chair after his departure from the European Commission in 2014.
The Cypriot turbulence in March immediately tested Dijsselbloem’s ability as a chair. He had become minister of finance in the Netherlands only in November 2012 and his appointment was almost immediately followed by rumours about his candidacy as president of the Eurogroup. In that respect, the criticism of his lack of experience and authority during the Cyprus crisis came as no surprise. For his two rescue proposals for Cyprus the media treated him on nicknames such as “DieselBoom”, “DijsselDoom” and “EuroBaldrick” (borrowed from the series Blackadder) as well as on appeals for his resignation. The fierce debates he provoked centre on the question as to whether the deposit holders are really completely safe. ‘True’ EU believers – and bankers who long for stability – would have preferred a banking resolution including European deposit guarantees in order to prevent bank runs whereas EU sceptics wished for the dismantling of the euro. Moreover, as was to be expected, Dijsselbloem was scorned as a Dutch puppet of Germany and blamed for defending the Dutch position instead of being a neutral chair.
Yet, in view of political realities like the upcoming elections in Germany and the public reservations against saving zombie banks and eurozone countries, the decisions of the Eurogroup to dismantle the Cypriot banks and to bail in seem inevitable. Moreover, given the lack of money in any country, it is highly unlikely that former Eurogroup President Juncker would have been able to orchestrate a different outcome. Approximately € 3 trillion is needed to stabilise banks in the eurozone. It is simply impossible to avoid more haircuts. Still, Dijsselbloem’s presentation of the measures appeared cold and his alleged Dutch bluntness provoked comments like the one by Juncker that you sometimes have to lie as chairman of the Eurogroup – as if financial markets preferred unreliability instead of predictability.
Also, the role of the chairman of the Eurogroup seems to be widely overestimated, if one has a close look at the EU power structure. A lot of criticism on Dijsselbloem is politically naïve in view of the strong resistance against the Cyprus bail-out not only in Germany but also in countries such as France where EU Affairs Minister Moscovici talked about “casino banking” on Cyprus. It seems widely regarded as reasonable to bail-in bondholders and deposit owners – particularly in the absence of an effective European resolution mechanism.
Hence, Dijsselbloem seems to have withstood the criticism well so far. Yet, there are issues for which he could be criticised, which in some cases can be blamed on his lack of experience. First of all, he made himself more important than he really is by ̶ during the hearing before the European Parliament ̶ taking the blame for the bailing-in of savings below €100 000 in the first deal with the Cypriot government. Firstly, the chair (President of the Eurogroup) is not a decision maker but mainly a spokesman: it was the decision of the Eurogroup to bail in those savings. Secondly, he referred to the bail-in of Dutch bondholders. A chair should be as neutral as possible and avoid telling the world how good his native country is in dealing with a crisis. Particularly Dutch politicians should take care not to be too outspoken. Dijsselbloem’s presentation of the Netherlands as a role model fuelled the criticism that he was pursuing a national agenda. Thirdly, he talked in terms of “core” and “periphery countries” as well as “the north” and “the south” whereas a chair should avoid divisions at any cost (as he later seemed to have realised).
Even though these issues are mainly issues of style and nothing serious, the international press once again saw a reason to complain about Dutch bluntness and about pushing through the Northern austerity agenda. Similarly, when Dijsselbloem, as Dutch Minister of Finance, attacked the Commission’s request for an additional € 11.2 billion for the budget for 2013, a question basically unrelated to the euro crisis, this led to head lines such as ”Dijsselbloem, president of the Eurogroup, joining forces with the UK” (EurActiv 3 April 2013). This shows that it seems to be inevitable that the chair of the Eurogroup is not regarded as neutral but as a national politician.
If Cyprus can cause an existential euro crisis overnight, it is very likely that more and more serious crises are to be expected. Against this backdrop, complaints about Dutch bluntness, accusations of Dijsselbloem acting as a German puppet or being part of the British camp, are particularly unhelpful both for the EU and for the Netherlands. What the Eurogroup urgently needs is a professional chair!
