Euro area finance ministers have received two nominations to succeed Christine Lagarde as President of the European Central Bank after she said she would step down by 7 February 2027.
Lagarde told the President of the European Council on 29 October that she would resign from the post by that date, Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pierrakakis noted in a statement issued on Friday.
The nomination process was then opened, with euro area member states asked to submit candidates by 6 November.
Two candidacies were received by the deadline — Pablo Hernández de Cos of Spain and Klaas Knot of the Netherlands.
The Eurogroup was due to take stock of the nominations at its next meeting on 9 November.
How the next ECB President is chosen
The ECB President is appointed by the European Council — which brings together EU leaders — following a recommendation from the Council, the Eurogroup President said.
The Council decision is taken by a “reinforced qualified majority” of euro area countries, requiring the backing of 72% of member states and at least 65% of the euro area population.
The European Central Bank and the European Parliament will be consulted before EU leaders make a final decision, in line with the process set out in the EU treaties.
