20/12/2019 (Agence Europe) – On Thursday, 19 December, the European Council formally appointed Fabio Panetta of Italy and Isabel Schnabel of Germany to be members of the executive board of the European Central Bank (ECB) for a non-renewable eight-year term, with effect from 1 January 2020. On 10 October, the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) issued a formal recommendation to the European Council to appoint Fabio Panetta, who is currently Deputy Governor of the Banca d'Italia (see EUROPE 12345/21). On 8 November, it did the same regarding the appointment of Isabel Schnabel, who is currently a professor at the University of Bonn and a member of the German Council of Economic Experts (see EUROPE 12365/27). The final decision was taken by the European Council by written procedure. (MF)