The story so far
written Nov 7What is happening
The leadership of the European Central Bank and the direction of euro area monetary policy turn on the selection of a successor to President Christine Lagarde, who resigns effective February 7, 2027 17. The Eurogroup received two official nominations by the November 6 deadline: Pablo Hernández de Cos of Spain and Klaas Knot of the Netherlands 1. Hernández de Cos is the former governor of the Bank of Spain, and Knot led the Dutch central bank from 2011 to 2025 2.
What to watch
The Eurogroup reviews the candidacies at its meeting on November 9 1. EU leaders intend to finalize the appointment during the European Council summit on December 17–18 3. The European Council publicly announcing the appointed successor would follow these deliberations.
A recommendation from the Council requires support from at least 16 of the 21 euro area member states representing 65% of the population 1. The European Parliament completing its hearing on the nominee and the ECB Governing Council providing its opinion would precede the final confirmation. The appointed successor taking office and signing the first policy statement would conclude the transition in February 2027.
Read the full brief · how we got here
References · 4
- 1consilium.europa.eu — Statement by the Eurogroup President on the nominations for ...
- 2bluewin.ch — The Netherlands Nominates Former Central Banker Knot as ECB ...
- 3reuters.com — EU leaders aim to appoint new ECB chief in December, official ...
- 7ecb.europa.eu — ECB President Lagarde to step down on 7 February 2027
What would close this
0 of 4 metTimeline
1newest firstWhen we started following: Spain and Netherlands nominate candidates for ECB presidency following Lagarde resignation
The Eurogroup received two official nominations for the presidency of the European Central Bank by the November 6 deadline: Pablo Hernández de Cos of Spain and Klaas Knot of the Netherlands 1. The selection process follows the October 29 announcement by ECB President Christine Lagarde that she will resign effective February 7, 2027 1.
Knot, who led the Dutch central bank from 2011 to 2025, was nominated by Finance Minister Eelco Heinen 2. Hernández de Cos is the former governor of the Bank of Spain 2. While Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel expressed interest in the role, he was not among the candidates submitted by the deadline 12.
The Eurogroup is scheduled to review the candidacies at its meeting on November 9 1. EU leaders intend to finalize the appointment during the European Council summit on December 17–18 3. A formal appointment requires a recommendation from the Council—supported by at least 16 of the 21 euro area member states representing 65% of the population—following consultations with the European Parliament and the ECB 13.