Brussels, 23/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 23 June, the European Parliament (EP) gave its approval to the appointment of Mario Draghi as head of the European Central Bank (ECB). “The euro area will be in good hands with Mr Draghi”, EP President Jerzy Buzek said. Parliament's endorsement came a few hours before the start of the European summit which was, in principle, to confirm Draghi (Italy), currently Governor of the Bank of Italy, in his new post. Some uncertainty remained, however, as France wants assurances over French representation on the ECB board. According to the Wall Street Journal, France even went as far as threatening to delay the official appointment of Draghi to replace Frenchman Jean-Claude Trichet.
France unreservedly backs Draghi, but wants to be sure to pick up a post within the ECB Executive Board, on which another Italian, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, currently sits. This, for the moment, is by no means certain as Bini Smaghi, whose term of office runs until 2013, is unwilling to stand down. If Draghi were to take over from Trichet in November without Bini Smaghi's resigning, Italy would find itself with two representatives on the governing body of the ECB and France would have none. Nothing in the treaties prevents this, but such a situation is unprecedented.
The Executive Board of the ECB comprises the president, vice-president and four other members, all recognised authorities with professional monetary or banking experience. With the heads of the euro area national central banks, they form the Governing Council. Last week, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi asked Bini Smaghi to resign to leave room for a French representative. Bini Smaghi, who does not answer to Berlusconi, has yet to do his prime minister's bidding. (L.C./Gp/transl.rt)