Brussels, 19/04/2004 (Agence Europe) - Rodrigo Rato seems to be a favourite for succeeding Horst Köhler at the head of the International Monetary Fund. Firstly, he has the support of most EU Member States (Spain, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria and no doubt the United Kingdom) as well as that of the United States. Secondly, the other European candidate, French national Jean Lemierre, has been re-elected to the presidency of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The Economy and Finance Ministers of EU Member States will announce their decision on 24 April, on the fringe of the IMF spring general assembly to be held in Washington.
Mr Lemierre's re-election, decided on Monday, implicitly confirms the rumours going round since Sunday in the corridors of the EBRD annual meeting that Mr Lemierre's European candidature to the IMF was abandoned to the benefit of the outgoing Spanish Finance Minister. On Monday, France welcomed the renewal of Mr Lemierre's term of office at the EBRD and said he was "convinced" that Mr Lemierre would know how to raise the "many challenges" facing the bank "over the next four years". Irish finance Minister Charlie McCreevy, whose country holds EU Presidency, nonetheless said on Monday that Mr Lemierre's renewed term of office as EBRD president is technically not an obstacle to his possible appointment at the IMF.