France and Germany maneuver to appoint Christine Lagarde’s successor as head of the ECB

An agenda item among others? On the agenda of the Eurogroup, the meeting of Finance Ministers this Monday in Brussels, is the subject of the succession of Christine Lagarde at the head of the European Central Bank (ECB). After a year of rumors to this effect, the latter announced that she was leaving the presidency of the ECB on February 7, 2027, several months before the end of her mandate. This early departure comes before a series of elections in Europe, which could strengthen the sovereignist camp. It also allows current heads of state to make a series of appointments at the same time. The Finance Ministers thus examined the profiles, both very serious, of the declared candidates: the Spaniard Pablo Hernández de Cos and the Dutchman Klaas Knot and discussed the fate of the other vacant positions on the board, those of chief economist and head of markets.

However, it is not in plenary, but in bilateral discussions that everyone will have been able to show their cards a little more, with great caution. The negotiations are indeed beating…