EU countries asked to nominate candidates for Lagarde’s successor by Friday

EU member states have been asked to submit nominations for the next European Central Bank president by Friday, according to a report by Dutch news agency ANP. The proposed candidates are due to go to Eurogroup president Kyriakos Pierrakakis, the report says, with nominations set to be discussed at a Eurogroup meeting on 9 November.

A Eurogroup spokesperson told ANP that Pierrakakis had asked countries to send their proposals by the deadline. The report names former Dutch central bank chief Klaas Knot and former Spanish central bank governor Pablo Hernández de Cos as leading candidates.

Christine Lagarde announced that she will leave the ECB presidency on 7 February 2027, eight months before her term was due to end. The ECB says her successor will be appointed by the European Council following the nomination process set out in EU treaty rules. The Council of the EU makes a recommendation to the European Council, after consulting the European Parliament and the ECB’s Governing Council.

The Eurogroup said it would act swiftly to prepare that recommendation. Its president’s statement did not specify a Friday deadline or the 9 November discussion reported by ANP.

The ECB’s announcement of Lagarde’s departure brought the succession process forward from the planned end of her term in October 2027.