29/08/2007 (Agence Europe) - Although he has been appointed head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kahn, will probably be the last director of European origin of the institution, explained Jean-Claude Juncker in an interview to the Financial Times Deutschland on 29 August. The Luxembourg prime minister and president of Eurogroup affirmed, “In the Euro group and among EU finance ministers, everyone is aware that Strauss-Kahn will probably be the last European to become director of the IMF in the foreseeable future”. The candidacy of Strauss-Kahn was not the only one, given that Russia gave its support to the former governor of the Czech Central Bank, Josef Tosovsky. It was also criticised by other countries, including the United Kingdom, which would like to see a more open process (EUROPE 9465). This criticism was rejected by Juncker who defended the candidacy of the former French minister, “When Strauss-Kahn leaves the IMF one day, he will have adjusted the IMF firmly to the expectations and interest of developing countries”. (ab)