PM 'satisfied' at Centeno appointment (3)

(ANSA) - Rome, December 4 - Premier Paolo Gentiloni is glad Portuguese Finance Minister Mario Centeno has been named Eurogroup chief, premier's office sources said Monday, noting that his name had been at the centre of talks Gentiloni had after Pier Carlo Padoan pulled out of the race. In particular, Centeno was discussed by Gentiloni in EU talks at the EU-AU summit in Ivory Coast and the PSE summit in Lisbon, they said.
    Centeno, 50, is set to take over from Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem. He will assume the presidency of the euzone finance ministers' group on January 13 2018 and will serve two and a half years. His first Eurogroup meeting as president will be on January 22. He has been Portuguese finance minister since November 26, 2015.