Juncker Says Eurogroup Succession Must Be Settled by End January

Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean- Claude Juncker said a decision on who will succeed him as chairman of euro-area finance ministers meetings will have to be taken by the end of January.

“I don’t expect a decision on this before the end of the year, because it was agreed I would still chair the eurogroup meeting in January, which will be mainly about Cyprus,” Juncker told reporters in Brussels today after attending a meeting of EU leaders. “A decision has to be taken by the end of January.”

Juncker, who was re-appointed to a new 30-month term as eurogroup chairman in July, has since said he will step down by early 2013. Juncker has chaired euro-area finance meetings since 2005.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stephanie Bodoni in Brussels at sbodoni@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tim Quinson at tquinson@bloomberg.net