A senior minister in the German government has confirmed that Germany will put forward a candidate for the European Central Bank’s executive board, according to a report by Reuters.

Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said that Germany will seek continued representation at the highest levels of the ECB, without specifying a specific role it will seek to fill.

"I am coordinating closely with the federal chancellery on all issues concerning ​the ECB, and of course, we will put forward a German candidate," said Klingbeil, per Reuters reporting⁠.

Sources close to the matter told Reuters that Germany will look to appoint a successor to the executive board member Isabel Schnabel, who is leaving the ECB on 3 January to become financial counsellor and director of the monetary and capital markets department at the International Monetary Fund.

Her departure comes ahead of a major change to the ECB executive board, with the Irish chief economist Philip Lane set to finish his term in May 2027 and French ECB president Christine Lagarde possibly stepping down early.

Though her term runs until October 2027, Lagarde has repeatedly hinted that she could leave her post a few months earlier than this. Initial reports by Politico indicated that this could allow her to play a role in the French presidential elections, taking place in May, though Lagarde has since denied this.

The Italian economy ‌minister Giancarlo Giorgetti has said his government is seeking clarification over Lagarde’s timeline, adding that it has no candidate in mind to succeed her.

One of the frontrunner candidates for ECB president is the Dutch economist Klaas Knot, who was president of the Netherlands central bank from 2011 to 2025 and has been backed by for the role Dutch government.

Seen as a fiscal hawk, Knot was outspoken in his criticism of Lagarde’s predecessor Mario Draghi. In September, Reuters cited sources who said that France would back Knot for ECB president on the condition of a French candidate being made chief economist.

If Germany does seek to replace Schnabel, it would leave the positions of president and chief economist open to nominations from other nations as each EU country tends to put forward just one candidate for the ECB executive board, in line with France’s reported plans.

Separately, Spain has commenced lobbying efforts for Pablo Hernandez de Cos, currently general manager at the Bank for International Settlements, to become ECB president.

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