Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem would be willing to take over as head of the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers, his office said on Friday, after a clutch of reports linked him to the job. The minister himself avoided a detailed discussion of his prospects of taking over from Luxembourg''''s Jean-Claude Juncker in what has been a key role in the battle with Europe''''s debt crisis. But he did admit that his name was one of many being touted for the post.

"I will answer this question once it is really posed to me, meaning by the people who decide about it, the Eurogroup," Dijsselbloem told reporters. Several European Union diplomats said Dijsselbloem''''s name was discussed during a summit on Thursday and Friday, and there appeared to be widespread support for his candidacy, but leaders intended to leave it up to finance ministers to decide next month.

Copyright Reuters, 2012