Spain and the Netherlands nominate candidates for ECB president — Politico Europe

In Brussels, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands have submitted candidates for the post of president of the European Central Bank, which Christine Lagarde will leave on February 7. The contenders are former Bank of Spain governor Pablo Hernández de Cos and former head of the Dutch central bank Klaas Knot, Politico Europe reports.

Two contenders

De Cos and Knot’s candidacies were the only ones submitted by the 17:00 deadline. Their nominations are part of negotiations over the distribution of seats on the ECB’s Executive Board, which also involve France and Germany.

The European Central Bank sets interest rates to maintain price stability in line with its medium-term target of 2%. The ECB’s Executive Board consists of six people and is responsible for the institution’s day-to-day operations.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Negotiations over other positions

Berlin seeks to retain the seat that German economist Isabel Schnabel will vacate on January 3 when she moves to the International Monetary Fund. Paris, in turn, is counting on the post of the ECB’s chief economist after Irishman Philip Lane’s eight-year term ends on May 31.

Eurozone finance ministers will discuss personnel changes at the ECB at a Eurogroup meeting in Brussels on Monday. De Cos and Knot will not take part in the closed meeting, but national ministers will support the candidacies of their compatriots. Diplomats expect further agreements among EU leaders at an informal summit in Dublin, while the deadline for submitting candidates to replace Schnabel expires on November 27.