Mário Centeno elected Best Finance Minister in Europe by The Banker

Magazine The Banker has elected the Portuguese Finance Minister Mário Centeno the Best Finance Minister in Europe 2018.

The distinction was made by the publication which belongs to the Financial Times after having completed one year as the president of the EU group of finance ministers, Eurogroup.

The award distinguishes those politicians who “succeeded the best in stimulating growth and stabilising the economy”.

“The Portuguese Minister of Finances, Mário Centeno can look at his first 12 months as president of Eurogroup with deserved satisfaction,” states the publication.

“Marathon negotiations between the ministers of Finance at the start of December ended with the most significant reforms in the single currency bloc since the sovereign debt crisis.

“Agreements on dozens of topics based on the prevention and management of future financial crises were reached.”

The publication considers that Centeno was chosen to head what is considered to be one of the most prestigious roles in the European Union.

He was the first Eurogroup president from a Southern European country, one that was bailed out during the financial crisis.

Mário Centeno’s aim for 2019 is to safeguard the European System for Deposit Guarantees and the Euro Zone Budget.

Alongside his success in Eurogroup negotiations, The Banker also points to Portugal’s economic recovery, with unemployment falling below 7% (from a peak of 175 IN 2013) and estimates from the OECD which have forecast economic growth of 2% both in 2019 and 2020.