What is the Eurogroup?

The Eurogroup is the meeting of the finance ministers of the euro zone member states. It is thus a slightly smaller version of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, which is the configuration of the Council of the European Union comprising the finance ministers of all 27 EU member states. The group was formalised by the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, and its president serves for two and a half years. The Eurogroup has political control over the single currency – as opposed to more technocratic decisions (setting interest rates, for example), which are handled by the European Central Bank.