EU leaders will attempt to use an upcoming summit to name the new president of the European Central Bank (ECB), according to Reuters.

Citing a senior euro zone official, the newswire reported that the upcoming 17 to 18 December EU summit will be used for a crucial vote to steer the future of the €7 trillion organisation.

The current president Christine Lagarde announced last week that she would cut short her term and step down on 7 February, months ahead of the original timeline for her departure in October 2027.

Countries looking to put forward a presidential candidate have a deadline of 6 November to name them.

The Netherlands has formally nominated the veteran economist Klaas Knot for the position. The former Dutch central bank president and chair of the Financial Stability Board, Knot has been described as a financial hawk who opposed Mario Draghi’s stimulus plans by Politico.

In September, Reuters reported that the French government would back Knot’s election on the condition that a French candidate was made ECB chief economist, citing sources close to the matter.

The current chief economist, Philip Lane, is set to finish his term in May 2027.

Spain has also proposed its first ever candidate for ECB president in Pablo Hernández de Cos, the general manager of the Bank for International Settlements and former governor of the Bank of Spain.

Because no two ECB executive board members can be from the same country, EU member states have historically focused on securing a candidate in just one position rather than vying directly for the presidency.

In October, the German finance minister Lars Klingbeil told Reuters that his government would put forward a candidate for the ECB’s executive board. However, a source told the newswire that this is likely to be a replacement for the executive board member Isabel Schnabel, who is due to leave the ECB in January to take up a post at the International Monetary Fund.

Reuters reported that EU ministers will also use the December summit to discuss replacements for both Schnabel and Lane, with political agreements expected over which countries will fill which positions.

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