BRUSSELS (MNI) – Luxembourg on Friday confirmed that it has
nominated its central bank governor, Yves Mersch, for a seat on the
European Central Bank’s executive board.
Competition for the vacancy, being created by the exit of Spain’s
Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo at the end of May, is heating up, with Spain
pushing for the place to be filled by another Spaniard amidst mounting
calls from northern Eurozone countries for more geographical balance on
the powerful six-member board.
The president, Mario Draghi, is from Italy, and the vice president,
Vitor Constancio, is from Portugal.
Spain has nominated Antonio Sainz de Vicuna, head of legal services
at the ECB, while Slovenia has put forward its EU minister Mitja
Gaspari, the country’s former central bank governor.
The Netherlands and Finland are also thought to be considering
nominating candidates.
Nominations are due by Friday evening so that Eurozone finance
ministers can discuss the appointment at their meeting in Brussels on
Monday.
–Brussels bureau: +324-9522-8374; pkoh@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: M$$EC$,M$X$$$,MGX$$$,MT$$$$]