Brussels, 24/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - The Eurogroup will try to reach agreement ahead of its meeting on Monday 20 February, on who will take over from Spain's José Manuel González-Páramo at the Executive Board of the European Central Bank. Three candidates have been put forward - Antonio Sainz de Vicuna of Spain, Mitja Gaspari of Slovenia and Yves Mersch of Luxembourg.
Spain wants Sainz de Vicuna, the current head of the ECB's legal department, to take over from Gonzalez Paramo in line with the gentleman's agreement that the four biggest eurozone economies should always be represented on the six-man Executive Board, but the ECB now has an Italian boss and a Portuguese deputy, which requires a northerner to restore balance. Reuters reports that on Monday, Finnish Prime Minister Jyirki Katainen said that because Mario Draghi is from Italy and the vice-president from Portugal, it would be logical for the new member to come from somewhere further to the north. (MB/transl.fl)