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Report: Portuguese finance minister favorite to win Eurogroup presidency

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Report: Portuguese finance minister favorite to win Eurogroup presidency

Portugal's finance minister Mario Centeno is said to be the favorite among the four candidates vying for the presidency of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers that is tasked with ensuring close coordination of economic policies, the Financial Times reported.

The election for the job that involves heading regular meetings of finance ministers of 19 member states of the single currency zone will be held on Dec. 4.

The Portuguese finance minister was preferred over Italy's Pier Carlo Padoan in a meeting of heads of state from France, Germany, Italy and Portugal at the sidelines of an EU summit where possible candidates for the post were discussed, the FT said, citing diplomats familiar with the talks. Centeno has been serving as finance minister of Portugal since late 2015 and is credited with guiding the country's economic recovery.

Padoan did not submit his candidacy for the position, according to a statement by the Council of the European Union that was released after the report.

Latvian Finance Minister Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Luxembourg's finance minister Pierre Gramegna and Slovakia's Peter Kazimir are the other three candidates participating in the election to succeed Netherlands' Jeroen Dijsselbloem, whose term will expire on Jan. 13, 2018.