23/01/2020 (Agence Europe) – AFP has reported that senior French government official Odile Renaud-Basso is a candidate to head the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Since 2016, Renaud-Basso has been Director General of the French Treasury and was previously Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (Deposits and Consignments Fund). The question of nominating a European candidate for the post of president of the EBRD was discussed on Tuesday 21 January at the Ecofin Council. The EBRD is based in London and has already had three French presidents. Its 71 shareholders include 69 States plus the European Union and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The EBRD's Board of Governors will meet in May to appoint the successor to Suma Chakrabarti, its current British president. A feasibility study will be carried out in 2020 to find the best way to streamline the European financial architecture for development that includes both the EBRD and the EIB (see EUROPE 12384/5). (MB)