EU To Pick New ECB Chief By December

The EU wants to name the next head of the European Central Bank by the end of the year, Eurogroup chief Kyriakos Pierrakakis said Monday, before ministers held their first discussions on a successor to Christine Lagarde.

Former Dutch central bank chief Klaas Knot and Spain’s Pablo Hernandez de Cos, head of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), are the two candidates to replace Lagarde, who announced last month that she would step down in February.

“The ambition here is that the whole process would have completed itself by the end of the year,” Pierrakakis said before a Eurogroup meeting of euro area finance ministers, when the ECB race will be on the agenda.

Pierrakakis said that Dutch and Spanish ministers would present their candidates, and that later on Monday he would meet with Antonio Costa, head of the European Council, which represents EU member states’ leaders.

It will be up to EU leaders to appoint Lagarde’s replacement based on a recommendation by euro area finance ministers.

There will be fierce negotiations as ECB executive board member Isabel Schnabel and chief economist Philip Lane are due to be replaced as well.

The expectation is that the leaders agree on a package deal on all three, including Lagarde’s replacement.

“Perhaps this would facilitate things but again this is a decision that will be taken by the leaders,” Pierrakakis said.

Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said Hernandez de Cos was the “right person for the position”, pointing to his decades of experience.

“He knows the ECB inside out. He’s been leading institutions such as the Bank of Spain, such as BIS as well. A steady hand, but always a profile to be able to find consensus,” Cuerpo told reporters.

Dutch Finance Minister Eelco Heinen said Knot was an “excellent candidate”, adding that “He has a very clear understanding of the ECB mandate and he has… a lot of experience to fulfil this position”.

EU governments want a deal as soon as possible.

Irish Finance Minister Simon Harris, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said he hoped Lagarde’s replacement would be chosen by December.

“It certainly makes sense to fill the vacancy as quickly as possible,” Harris said. “But it’s also about getting it right and getting the right person. It’s a really crucial appointment.”