Mário Centeno to ECO: “I have expressed my availability to run for Vice-President of the ECB”
The bid will be formalised this Friday. For Mário Centeno, this is "a decisive opportunity to establish Portugal as one of the most important European decision-making centres".
Mário Centeno is Portugal’s official candidate for the position of Vice-President of the European Central Bank (ECB), he revealed in an exclusive statement sent to ECO. ‘Encouraged by European contacts maintained during my time as Governor of the Bank of Portugal, I expressed to European leaders my willingness to apply for the position of Vice-President of the ECB, and I kept the Portuguese Government informed,’ said the former Governor of the Bank of Portugal.
Centeno detailed the reasons for his candidacy, which will face competition from at least five other candidates: “The candidacy, to be formalised tomorrow by the Portuguese Government, is part of my ongoing contribution to the deepening of European integration, based on the experience I have gained throughout my professional career. After more than three decades at the Bank of Portugal and nearly ten years in representative roles in the European Union, including as President of the Eurogroup, the possibility of taking on the role of Vice-President of the ECB represents a challenge for which I feel motivated and qualified.”
According to information gathered by ECO, the Government’s support was finalised very recently, after both the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance opened the door to Centeno’s candidacy about a month ago, albeit initially in a relatively vague manner.
After more than three decades at the Bank of Portugal and nearly ten years in representative roles within the European Union, including as President of the Eurogroup, the possibility of taking on the role of Vice-President of the ECB represents a challenge for which I feel motivated and qualified.
According to Centeno, ‘this election is taking place in a challenging political context and its outcome is uncertain, given the possibility of several candidates and the underlying regional balances. At the same time, it represents a decisive opportunity to assert Portugal’s position in one of the most important European decision-making centres’.
This Friday is the deadline for Member States to submit their candidates for the vice-presidency of the European Central Bank, a position that will become vacant at the end of May with the end of the term of office of Spain’s Luis de Guindos. This Friday, the Portuguese candidacy will be formalised and it is the last day for the others to do so, followed by a complex web of contacts to find support in order to reach a formal recommendation on the name, which will still have to be approved by various EU bodies. It is expected that, in addition to Centeno, at least five other names will be proposed.
A Eurogroup meeting is scheduled for the 19th, where, in theory, the name to be proposed for the process to move forward, including the intervention of the ECB and the European Parliament, could be announced. However, it is more likely that the name will only be announced at the next meeting in February.