The Dutch Klaas Knot and the Spanish Pablo Hernández de Cos are the only candidates to succeed Christine Lagarde at the helm of the European Central Bank. The Eurogroup will examine the two candidacies on November 9.
The Dutch Klaas Knot will be the only rival of the Spanish Pablo Hernández de Cos in the race for the presidency of the European Central Bank (ECB), as reported by El Debate. The Eurogroup has confirmed that both are the only candidates presented to succeed Christine Lagarde, following the closure of the deadline for eurozone countries to propose candidates.
The confirmation comes after the Government formalised Hernández de Cos's candidacy, the former governor of the Bank of Spain. The First Vice President and Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, sent a letter to the President of the Eurogroup, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, to communicate the Spanish proposal.
The economy and finance ministers of the eurozone will examine the two candidacies on Monday, November 9. This meeting will serve to initiate discussions between governments and understand the support for each candidate, but there will be no final election. Heads of State and Government aim to reach an agreement at the summit on November 26 and 27.
Knot was the governor of the central bank of the Netherlands and participated in the ECB's monetary policy decisions. Hernández de Cos was the governor of the Bank of Spain from 2018 to 2024, during which he was part of the ECB's Governing Council. He currently heads the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), based in Basel.
The appointment requires a qualified majority: the candidate must have the backing of at least 16 of the 21 member states of the eurozone, which must also represent at least 65% of the population. After the Eurogroup discussions, the Council of the European Union will need to formulate the proposal, and the final decision will rest with the European leaders, following consultations with the European Parliament and the ECB's Governing Council.
The election has been expedited because Christine Lagarde announced on October 29 her intention to leave the presidency before February 7, 2027, about nine months before the end of her expected term. Additionally, Isabel Schnabel is expected to leave early in 2027, and the term of Chief Economist Philip Lane ends in May.
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