The European Parliament has flagged up Portugal’s former central bank governor, Mário Centeno and Latvia economist Mārtiņš Kazāks as preferred front runners for the vice-presidency of the European Central Bank.
The preference for the Portuguese former Finance is not binding but a final decision on the chosen candidate will be made public on Monday.
The current Vice-President of the European Central Bank (ECB) is Luis de Guindos, serving since June 2018, with his term set to end in May 2026, and candidates are now being considered to succeed him.
A former governor of the Bank of Portugal, Vítor Constâncio occupied the position between 2010-2018.
“On January 14, the members of the Economic and Monetary Affairs committee had informal exchanges with the six candidates for the position of the next ECB Vice-President. The committee coordinators, representing the majority of the committee’s composition, supported Mārtiņš Kazāks and Mário Centeno as the preferred candidates for this position “, reads a statement attributed to Aurore Lalucq, who chairs the committee in question.
She adds: “I have consequently informed the President of the Eurogroup, Kyriakos Pierrakákis, and the President of Ecofin and Minister of Finance of Cyprus, Makis Keravnos”.