Eurozone governments have until 6 November to nominate Lagarde's ECB successor

Procedure and deadline

Christine Lagarde has informed the European Council president, António Costa, by letter dated 29 October that she intends to step down from the European Central Bank presidency by 7 February 2027, about nine months before her term ends. The Council of the EU has since launched the procedure to pick her successor. A spokesperson for the Eurogroup said that Kyriakos Pierrakakis has asked euro-area states to send their candidate names by Friday, 6 November 2026. Ministers will take a first look at the nominations at their meeting on Monday, 9 November, in Brussels. The formal appointment will rest with the European Council, acting on a recommendation from the Council of the EU that only euro-area countries adopt, which is why the nominations are discussed in the Eurogroup first.

The names in contention

Spain will put forward Pablo Hernández de Cos, a former governor of the Bank of Spain who now serves as general manager of the Bank for International Settlements. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez defended his candidacy in September, and Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the opposition People's Party, also supports him. The Netherlands is set to field Klaas Knot, the former head of the Dutch central bank, and Prime Minister Rob Jetten has publicly backed him, praising his pragmatism and his ability to work with different counterparts. Both are widely tipped as frontrunners, but no list is final and more names could still emerge. In the previous selection, when Mario Draghi's successor was chosen, Lagarde was not among the names in circulation while Jens Weidmann was seen as a strong contender. The final choice will also depend on the positions of Germany and France, and the candidacies have been discussed with Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Emmanuel Macron.

Other seats on the executive board

Lagarde's departure is one of three vacancies on the ECB Executive Board that must be filled in 2027. Isabel Schnabel is due to leave for the International Monetary Fund on 3 January 2027, and the procedure for her successor opened in early October with a deadline of 28 October that was later extended to 27 November. Germany has said it will put forward a candidate for the Schnabel seat because it wants to keep a place on the board, though it has not yet named anyone. Chief economist Philip Lane's mandate expires on 31 May 2027.

What comes next

The Eurogroup meets on 9 November, and European leaders are expected to return to the nominations at an extraordinary European Council summit in Brussels on 26 and 27 November. Diplomatic sources say the ideal outcome would be a name agreed at that summit, which the 21 euro-area governments can discuss. If no name emerges then, the next European Council is scheduled for 17 and 18 December. Two names have been announced so far, but more candidacies could still follow before the deadline.