PARIS (MNI) – The European Central Bank said Thursday it has “no
objections” to the nomination of France’s Benoit Coeure to join the
ECB’s Executive Board.
Benoit was put forward by the French government to replace Lorenzo
Bini Smaghi, who will step down at the end of this year. After the
retirement of former ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet, a Frenchman, it
was widely understood that France would get the next slot on the board.
That opening was created by Bini Smaghi’s announcement that he
would resign his post, because of the ascension of Mario Draghi, a
fellow Italian, to the presidency. It is a widely understood though
unwritten convention that the board may not have more than one member of
any Eurozone nationality.
The ECB’s written statement is below:
“The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) has
adopted an opinion on a recommendation from the Council of the European
Union on the appointment of a new member of the Executive Board of the
ECB.
“The Governing Council had no objections to the proposed candidate,
Benot Coeure, who is a person of recognised standing and professional
experience in monetary or banking matters, as required by Article 283(2)
of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
Following the Governing Council’s opinion and an opinion of the
European Parliament, the decision on the appointment will be taken by
the European Council, with the votes of its euro area members. The ECB
opinion, which will be published shortly in the Official Journal of the
European Union, is available on the ECB’s website in all the official EU
languages.”
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