Euro zone finance ministers will today discuss two candidates to replace European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, but are unlikely to make any recommendations yet, waiting for EU leaders to reach a deal first.
Christine Lagarde will step down on February 7, nine months before the end of her term, making the schedule tight because leaders must also fill two other seats on the ECB’s Executive Board within months.
The two candidates to replace Lagarde are Dutch former central bank governor Klaas Knot and the head of the Bank for International Settlements Pablo Hernandez de Cos from Spain.
Under EU rules, euro zone finance ministers have to recommend a candidate, who then has to have a hearing in the European Parliament before EU leaders make the final appointment. EU governments would like to do that by the end of the year.
“We understand that we need to move fast. But what has traditionally happened in the past is that this was a decision driven by the leaders. Today it will be primarily an information point and the discussion,” the chair of euro zone ministers Kyriakos Pierrakakis told reporters on entering the meeting.
Apart from Lagarde, leaders also have to agree on who should replace Isabel Schnabel, the head of the ECB’s marketo perations, who leaves on January 3, 2027, and Chief Economist Philip Lane, whose term ends in May 2027.
The three jobs are likely to be negotiated between the main euro zone countries – France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands – as a package, officials said.
“Perhaps this would facilitate things. But again, this is adecision that will be taken by the leaders at the leaders level,” Pierrakakis said.
Dutch Finance minister Eelco Heinen said that the choice of the next European Central Bank president needs to be merit-based, not the result of political discussions and trading of favours.
The Dutch candidate for the job, Klaas Knot, has an “excellent” track record as former Dutch central bank governor and crisis manager, Heinen said before a meeting with colleagues from euro zone countries where he would present Knot’s candidacy.
Heinen did not comment on his merits, but said countries should not see the ECB leadership contest as one between northern and southern European countries, or as an opportunityto extract favours on other topics such as the multi-year EU budget.
Meanwhile, Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said today he is optimistic Pablo Hernandez de Cos will be selected to become European Central Bank’s next president.
He has merits on his own, such as 30 years of experience in central banking, a capacity to build consensus and he has showed leadership at the helm of the Spanish central bank, Cuerpo told reporters.
