EU leaders target December pick for Lagarde successor

European Union leaders want to appoint a successor to European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde at their December 17-18 summit, a senior euro zone official told Reuters on Wednesday. The plan would wrap up a fast-moving race that began after Lagarde said she would leave early. The same political deal is likely to settle who replaces two other Executive Board members, Isabel Schnabel and Chief Economist Philip Lane.reuters.com

"The aim is to find a formal agreement on the appointments in December at the European Council," the official, who is involved in preparing the decision, said. Schnabel, who runs the ECB's market operations, leaves on January 3, 2027, and Lane's term ends in May 2027.reuters.com

A tight timetable

Leaders can only appoint the new president once euro zone finance ministers make a formal recommendation and after the ECB and the European Parliament have been consulted. Parliament has no veto, but it must adopt its opinion at a plenary session. One such session runs November 23-28 in Strasbourg, with more in December, according to Reuters. Eunews reported that a December 18 go-ahead from leaders would need finance ministers to agree at their December 11 Ecofin meeting.eunews.it+1

Governments have until Friday, November 6, to submit candidates, and euro zone finance ministers will review the field on Monday, November 9. The official said no single candidate is expected to be recommended at that meeting unless leaders reach a political deal in the coming days. If that happens, ministers could make a recommendation "already within this month," the official said. If the steps take longer, the appointment could slip to January, when leaders could formalize it without meeting in person. "But preferably we would have this done and dusted in December," the official added.reuters.com

The contenders

The Netherlands has formally nominated its former central bank governor, Klaas Knot. Spain is likely to put forward Pablo Hernández de Cos, who heads the Bank for International Settlements, Reuters reported. Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel is also in the running, according to dpa. Sources in Brussels told Eunews that "viewing these three seats as a package could help." The deadline for nominations to replace Schnabel has been extended to November 27, To Vima reported.tovima.com+3

Lagarde's early exit

On October 29, Lagarde told the Governing Council and European Council President António Costa that she would step down on February 7, 2027, the ECB said. Her term was due to run until late October 2027. Costa said the process to pick her successor "will proceed without delay." Leaving in February gives the current group of EU leaders time to settle the succession before France's presidential election, Morningstar noted.ecb.europa.eu+2