On 29 October, the President of the ECB, Christine Lagarde, informed the President of the European Council that she would resign from her position by 7 February 2027. I therefore started the procedure for appointing a successor to the ECB President and asked member states to send their nominations by today, 6 November.
By the deadline, I have received two candidacies:
- Pablo Hernández de Cos (Spain)
- Klaas Knot (Netherlands)
At its next meeting on 9 November, the Eurogroup will take stock of these candidacies.
Background
The members of the ECB Executive Board, including its President, are appointed by the European Council, on a recommendation from the Council. The Council acts by reinforced qualified majority of the euro area member states. Such majority requires the support of 72% of euro area member states (i.e. at least 16 of the 21 euro area countries), representing at least 65% of the population of the euro area.
In line with the selection process established in the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, the ECB and the European Parliament will be consulted before a final decision is taken by the European Council.
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