The race for the ECB’s No. 2 post marks the start of a broader contest for seats on the bank’s six-member Executive Board.
Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Portugal are competing for the vice presidency of the European Central Bank, the EU Council said.
The race for the ECB’s No. 2 post marks the start of a broader contest for seats on the bank’s six-member Executive Board, the eurozone’s most powerful body for economic and monetary policy. Four positions, including the presidency, will fall vacant over the next two years.
Eurozone finance ministers are set to choose the winner by secret ballot at the Eurogroup meeting in Brussels on January 19. The successor to outgoing vice president Luis de Guindos, whose term ends on May 31, will need the backing of at least 16 of the 21 ministers, representing about 65% of the eurozone’s population.
Candidates include Finland’s central bank governor Olli Rehn; Estonia’s Madis Müller; Latvia’s Mārtiņš Kazāks; Lithuania’s former finance minister Rimantas Šadžius; Portugal’s former Eurogroup president Mário Centeno; and Croatia’s central bank governor Boris Vujčić. The European Parliament and the ECB will be consulted on the final appointment. | BGNES