Eurogroup to vote on Monday on candidacy for ECB vice-presidency, including that of Centeno

BRUSSELS – The Eurogroup will vote on Monday on the candidacy of the former governor of the Bank of Portugal, Mário Centeno, and five others for the vice-presidency of the European Central Bank, to replace Luis de Guindos from May onwards, with a decision expected.
At the meeting of euro area finance ministers, which will take place on Monday, the last item on the agenda will be devoted to the choice regarding the appointment of the successor to the current vice-president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Luis de Guindos, who leaves at the end of May.
There are six candidacies: that of the former governor of the Bank of Portugal and former Portuguese finance minister, Mário Centeno; the governor of the central bank of Latvia, Mārtiņš Kazāks; the governor of the central bank of Estonia, Madis Müller; the governor of the central bank of Finland and former European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Olli Rehn; the former finance minister of Lithuania, Rimantas Šadžius; and the governor of the central bank of Croatia, Boris Vujčić.
Speaking ahead of the vote, which will take place in Brussels, a senior official pointed out that “there is no rush” to make the decision, given that the mandate of Luis de Guindos only ends in four months’ time, but said he expected “there to be an agreement” and “a good result to be achieved”.
“No one wants a deadlock,” he noted, adding however that the rules do not require any candidate to withdraw, even if they obtain fewer votes, with “common sense” prevailing instead.
The chosen candidate must secure the support of 72% of the member states of the single currency area (that is, at least 16 of the 21 euro countries), representing at least 65% of the population.
Following the Eurogroup discussion, the Council of the European Union (EU) will adopt a recommendation to the European Council (at leaders’ level), deciding by reinforced qualified majority of the euro countries.
In a non-binding position expressed this Wednesday, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament considered Mário Centeno and the Latvian candidate as “preferred candidates for the post” of ECB vice-president, which will become vacant at the end of May.
On that same day, MEPs held informal hearings with the six candidates.
Last Friday, the last day for submitting applications, the Portuguese Government decided to formally submit the candidacy of Centeno for ECB vice-president, following a request from him.
The vote is expected to start at 5:00 p.m. (local time, one hour less in Lisbon) on Monday and may be brief or last several hours.
At 59, Mário Centeno was, between mid-2020 and mid-2025, governor of the Bank of Portugal, after having served as Portuguese finance minister between 2015 and 2020, a position in which he became president of the Eurogroup, the informal forum of the single currency, between 2018 and 2020.