The informal meeting of European finance ministers, which is taking place until Saturday 16 September in Santiago de Compostela on the initiative of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, is the scene of intense consultations on the appointment of a replacement for Germany’s Werner Hoyer at the head of the European Investment Bank (EIB), in the presence of the candidates (see EUROPE 13250/2).
Officially, the Spanish Finance Minister, Nadia Calviño, host of the ministerial meeting, does not wish to promote her candidacy because of the task of leading the meeting. “The presence of candidates can lead to discussions”, she nevertheless admitted, welcoming the support she had received from Portugal.
The other candidates are Denmark’s Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition, Italy’s Daniele Franco, former Finance Minister, and Poland’s Teresa Czerwińska and Sweden’s Thomas Östros, two EIB vice-presidents.
Belgian Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem, in his capacity as current Chairman of the EIB’s Board of Directors, was responsible for bringing the procedure to a successful conclusion. He indicated that, after evaluating the five candidates, “informal consultations” had begun to see how the two conditions for the nomination of a candidate could be met, namely to secure the support of 18 countries representing 68% of the EU Bank’s capital.
He will give a briefing at the ministerial meeting on Saturday morning. But several ministers, including Dutch Sigrid Kaag and German Christian Lindner, predicted that no decision would be taken this weekend in Galicia.
“We must not force the process”, said the Belgian minister, with a decision still needed by the end of 2023, the end of Mr Hoyer’s second term in office.
Mr Lindner called for prior reflection on the evolution of the remit and governance of the EIB, the world’s leading multilateral development bank. He supported the EIB’s action in favour of the climate and energy transition, as well as its operations in Africa and Ukraine. “But its mission must not be overloaded” and the EIB must retain its AAA financial rating, he stressed, at a time when some criticise the Bank for its reluctance to take risks.
On the French side, a source at the Ministry of Finance insisted on Thursday that “the energy mix of the Member States must be respected”, echoing earlier statements by the French Minister, Bruno Le Maire, to the effect that the EIB should also support investment in the nuclear sector.
At present, there are still too many candidates for any one of them to be able to secure the qualified majority of EU countries required. Some, like certain capitals, will want to wait for the outcome of the process, which is continuing in parallel, to appoint the chair of the Single Supervisory Board (SSB) within the ECB, the body responsible for supervising the major banking groups within the euro area banking union.
On Wednesday, the ECB announced that the Governing Council had voted by a majority in favour of the German Claudia Buch, Deputy Governor of the Bundesbank, over Margarita Delgado, Deputy Governor of the Banco de España (see EUROPE 13249/38). The coordinators of the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) had informally expressed their support for the Spanish candidate. The European Parliament has final veto power over the ECB’s proposal.
Questioned on Friday about the internal process at the ECB, its President, Christine Lagarde, indicated that of the four candidatures received for the presidency of the SSM Supervisory Board, two had been retained by the selection committee. She took issue with those who accused her of not having shared the opinion of MEPs on the Governing Council. It then voted by secret ballot under the supervision of an integrity committee, she added, praising the “sportsmanship and elegance” of the two candidates when the result was announced.
Claudia Buch will be heard by the ECON Committee on Wednesday 20 September. If she makes it through the European Parliament and then the Council of the EU, her appointment is seen as an advantage for Ms Calviño’s candidacy. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)