The profound renewal that is set to take place in the ECB’s Executive Committee in the next two years due to the expiration of the terms of up to four members has already reinvigorated power games in the euro area. … Click on potential candidates and start lobbying. In this context, Spain He does not want to be excluded from the highest administrative body of the institution, and will seek to win one of the vacant positions, and has appointed him to the presidency as the highest position, according to the sources I have seen.
Currently, Spain is represented on the Executive Committee since Spain Luis de Guindos He is the current Vice-President of the European Central Bank, but on May 31st his eight-year term ends, and our country will be left without any of the body’s six seats. This scenario of a complete loss of weight in the EMO is not being considered by the government and that is why Economy Minister Carlos Budde has already indicated, in statements to Efe, that they will apply for one of the positions that will remain vacant two years from now. “Spain must continue to play a relevant role, especially with the role it plays now, in addition to being the fourth shareholder in the European Central Bank,” Bode said.
Luis de Guindos’ departure in 2027 will be followed, in that order, by Philip R. Lin (also chief economist), President Christine Lagarde, and Isabelle Schnabel. These last three positions are positions for which Spain can nominate a candidate, but the sources consulted indicate that the greatest desire is the presidency, a position that our country has never held since the creation of the euro.
For this position, financial sources suggest the nomination of the former governor of the Central Bank of Spain Pablo Hernandez de Cos. In fact, as ABC reported, this would be one of the wishes of De Coos himself, who sees the presidency of the European Central Bank as the culmination of his career. His technical abilities are beyond doubt, he is an old acquaintance with experience in the organization and would be a name that could attract the support of PSOE and PP to lobby for him, despite his clashes with CEO Pedro Sánchez.
The political game
However, becoming the new head of the ECB is a big game within European politics and in the financial sector they are aiming for Germany as a contender to win. What plays against the Germans is that they already chair the European Commission and banking supervision of the Frankfurt-based institution. Given this situation, there is speculation that the Germans may run for the position of vice president in the first months of 2026, and this would play in Spain’s favor in every way, as well as in De Cos’ favor, as they would withdraw from the race for the presidency.
The election of the vice president who will succeed de Guindos in 2026 will determine the pools of the other three positions
The other interesting situation for Spain is the Irish succession Philip Lin And also the position of chief economist, which is one of the most important positions in the authority. Rumors here suggest that Minister Carlos Corpus himself could be the government’s candidate, given his technical standing. There are also those who place former Minister Nadia Calviño, who currently holds the position of President of the European Investment Bank, in one of the positions.
From now on, power games are unleashed in Europe between member states. Whoever will occupy the position of Vice President starting in June will cause a chain reaction for the rest of the positions, as “effectively” no country can hold two positions on the Executive Committee; This will determine the other three position pools and the strategy of each member state.
The share allocated to the slightly smaller euro countries will remain to be seen after Layne’s departure, although the Dutch chancellor, Frank Elderson, remains on the executive committee. The party that was excluded from the struggle for senior administrative positions is Italy, where Piero Cipolloni is a member of the committee.