Government confirms the choice of Mourinho Félix for EIB

The Finance Minister confirmed Thursday that the Portuguese government has already formally handed over the name of Ricardo Mourinho Félix as a candidate for the vice-presidency of the European Investment Bank (EIB), as ECO reported in August.

Questioned at the press conference, at the end of the meeting of the Council of Ministers, it was confirmed that the former Secretary of State for Finance was the name chosen to succeed Emma Navarro, João Leão replied yes. The EIB had already confirmed this to ECO: “The EIB has received the nomination for the vice-presidency of Spain and Portugal.”

The process of choosing the members of the EIB’s Executive Committee begins with a request to the Bank’s Advisory Committee for Nomination, which gives a non-binding opinion to the Bank’s Board of Directors and then to the Board of Governors, composed of the 27 EU Finance or Economic Ministers. The final decision is taken by the Board of Governors. This process usually takes between two and four months.

The Management Committee is the EIB’s permanent executive body, comprising a President and eight Vice-Presidents. Portugal and Spain always submit a joint application. There is an agreement between the two countries that Portugal will hold the vice-presidency for three years – in this case until September 2023 – and Spain for 12. Mourinho Félix was no exception and his appointment is made jointly by Portugal and Spain.