The third time's not the charm either. The Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, has failed in his attempt to preside over the Eurogroup –the monthly meeting of eurozone finance ministers– and withdrew just hours before the vote was to take place. The Spanish Socialist's defeat follows the failed candidacies of his two predecessors for the Economy portfolio, fellow Socialist Nadia Calviño and Popular Party member Luis de Guindos. Thus, the current leader of the organization, Irish Conservative Paschal Donohoe, has reappointed his mandate for another two and a half years.

Spain does not give up and returns to test the waters to preside The body that brings together the eurozone's finance ministers each month: the Eurogroup. The two previous finance ministers in the Spanish government, the conservative Luis de Guindos and the progressive Nadia Calviño, both tried unsuccessfully to do so. Now, however, the current top finance official at the Moncloa Palace, Carlos Cuerpo, is making a strong comeback and has already contacted member state delegations to the European Union (EU) to find out if they would support him in a bid to lead the body, according to the magazine. Political and diplomatic sources confirm to ARA.

Optimism pervades Europe's leading economic indicators and institutions. This week the European Central Bank (ECB) has announced that it is beginning to withdraw the emergency stimuli it put in place at the start of the pandemic, and so the end of 2021 is starting to be considered the end of the crisis. However, the urgency of opening a debate affecting the heart of the functioning of the European Union is being felt. Coronavirus has blown away Europe's deficit and debt rules, which are fiercely defended by the fiercely defended by the frugal Nordic countries but this exceptionality will not last forever. The suspension is temporary, until 2023. The question is to what extent it is realistic to return to rules that set the deficit limit at 3% and debt at 60% of GDP when the Eurozone currently has a deficit that exceeds 7% and a debt that is close to 100%. With recovery on the horizon, the political debate is also beginning between those who want to seize the moment to soften these rules and those who are more reluctant to change them.