FRANKFURT (MNI) – The European Central Bank Friday declined to
confirm that Executive Board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi would resign his
seat before the end of his term.
Asked about comments by senior EU officials earlier today
indicating that Bini Smaghi would step down by the end of the year to
avoid having two Italians on the board when Mario Draghi accedes to the
presidency, a bank spokesperson merely reiterated an earlier statement
by the current president, Jean-Claude Trichet.
The spokesperson noted that Trichet had said, “ECB board members
are appointed for a term of eight years according to the treaty” and
that “Bini Smaghi will take any future decision in full independence.”
The comment about a “future decision” seems to suggest that in fact
Bini Smaghi has not yet made his decision.
Earlier Friday European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said
Bini Smaghi had told him on Friday that he would leave the ECB before
the end of the year. German Chancellor Angela Merkel also said that was
her understanding.
France had supported the ECB presidential bid Draghi, who is
governor of the Bank of Italy, on the understanding that Bini Smaghi —
another Italian — would step aside to allow for the appointment of a
French national to the board. Once Trichet’s term ends, France will have
nobody on the board unless it is given the latitude to propose somebody
new.
There is an unwritten understanding that the ECB board will not
have more than one member from any given country, and that the four
largest Eurozone countries — Germany, France, Italy and Spain — will
be represented on it.
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