The Economy and Finance ministers of the euro area (Eurogroup) are scheduled to analyze this Monday in Brussels the candidacies of the Spaniard Pablo Hernández de Cos and of the Dutchman Klaas Knot to succeed Christine Lagarde at the head of the European Central Bank (ECB). The meeting will serve to open discussions on the allocation of support before the EU leaders decide who will finally take up the presidency.
The meeting comes after last Friday’s deadline to submit candidacies concluded and it was confirmed that the former governor of the Bank of Spain and the former head of the Dutch central bank are the only two candidates to lead the institution. In this first point of contact, the ministers will limit themselves to an initial exchange of views on the selection process, with no formal decisions planned.
The intention is for the heads of State and Government of the European Union to reach a political agreement at the summit of 26 and 27 November, so that the formal steps can be completed afterwards and the appointment can be finalized before the end of the year. This is intended to ensure the handover of Lagarde, who announced on 29 October her intention to leave the position before 7 February 2027.
The election is part of a broader renewal of the top leadership of the ECB, motivated by the early departure of Isabel Schnabel in January and by the end of the mandate of the institution’s chief economist, Philip Lane, in May. As a senior European official has explained, governments could negotiate jointly the allocation of these three posts if they consider that this facilitates reaching an overall compromise.
Alongside this process, the Eurogroup will also examine the economic situation of the euro area, with special attention to the impact of rising energy prices on inflation and growth, at a time when the European Commission is finalizing its autumn economic forecasts.
At the Ecofin meeting, the ministers of the Twenty-Seven will seek to reach a political agreement on the reform of tobacco taxation. The proposal would raise the minimum rates of excise taxes across the EU and extend their scope to new tobacco and nicotine products, with the aim of updating rules that the Council considers obsolete and adapting them to new forms of consumption.
The rest of the agenda will include a debate on the efficiency of defense spending with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, as well as monitoring the negotiations on the digital euro and a review of the situation in the banking sector. The ministers will also address the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine, the implementation of recovery funds, and the simplification of the regulatory framework.