Brussels, 21/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - Werner Hoyer, the German secretary of state for European affairs, will be taking over from Belgian national Philippe Maystadt at the helm of the European Investment Bank on 1 January 2012, at the end of Maystadt's second term of office.
Hoyer will be the EIB's seventh president since it was set up in 1958. The arrival of a German at the helm means that fellow German, Matthias Kollatz-Ahnen, will have to leave his post as the EIB vice-president. Kollatz-Ahnen is greatly admired by his colleagues, but some are astonished about the choice of Hoyer as the new president because he is more skilled in international diplomacy than banking, despite having a degree in economics, and he has never worked at the head of an international financial institution. Some suggest that a more suitable candidate could be imagined in this period of deep economic and financial crisis when the EIB has a crucial role to play.
It is reported that France backed Hoyer's appointment and in return, Germany will back France's candidate to take over at the helm of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Kollatz-Ahnen's old job of EIB vice-president is now being fought over by Luxembourg and the Netherlands. (OL/transl.fl)