Brussels, 24/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - At the end of the European Council on Friday 24 June, the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, welcomed the fact that “the European Council has appointed Mr Mario Draghi as president of the European Central Bank from 1 November 2011”. He added that “we are confident that Mr Draghi will exercise firm and independent leadership at the head of the ECB and pursue the tradition established by the two former presidents of the bank. This is essential when times are normal and it is indispensable when times are difficult.” The president of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso, also congratulated the current governor of the Banca d'Italia. The in-principle agreement of the European Council (which was made in a declaration) is expected to be officially ratified by the Ecofin Council.
With the appointment of Draghi, Italy is now in the process of obtaining a second seat on the Executive Board of the ECB, in addition to the one occupied by Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, whose mandate runs until 2013. In exchange for its support for Draghi, France is demanding one of the two posts for its representatives when Jean-Claude Trichet leaves. This is a sensitive subject, given the independent character of the ECB. Any uncertainty was removed after Bini Smaghi provided a verbal assurance on Friday that he would leave his post by the end of the year. Van Rompuy indicated that Bini Smaghi had personally informed him of his intention not to end his mandate as a member of executive committee of the ECB. Van Rompuy added that “it is up Mr Bini Smaghi to decide on the calendar”. The Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, confirmed the undertaking made by Bini Smaghi, for whom a new role must now be found, which could perhaps be at the presidency of the Banca d'Italia. The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, said that Bini Smaghi had telephoned him to inform him that he'd been called on to perform a new role before the end of the year. The French president said that there could not be two people of the same nationality out of the six members of the Executive Board. Similarly to Trichet, Draghi will be “a guarantee of price stability” because he comes from a country that has experienced inflation and, according to the president of the Eurogroup, Jean-Claude Junker, “he knows at what cost inflation can affect ordinary people”. (M.B./F.G./A.N./E.H./transl.fl)