The Spanish government yesterday said it was putting forward a candidate for the next vacancy on the governing board of the European Central Bank to compete against nominations from Ireland and Belgium.
Madrid's candidate is José Manuel González-Páramo (45) who sits on the executive and governing boards of the Spanish Central Bank and is professor of public finance at Complutense University in Madrid.
Mr Páramo's candidacy must now vie with that of Ireland's Mr Michael Tutty, currently a vice-president at the European Investment Bank, and Mr Peter Praet, a director of the Belgian National Bank. Portugal has declared its intention to nominate a candidate but is still consulting on its choice.
A decision on who should fill the vacancy is expected at the March 8th meeting of the finance ministers from the euro zone. The choice would then have to be endorsed by finance ministers from all 15 EU states the following day.
The ECB and the European Parliament would be consulted before a final decision is taken by the EU heads of state.
The post falls open on May 31st, when Prof Eugenio Domingo Solans of Spain reaches the end of his term of office.
The significance of yesterday's nomination is that Spain has chosen to contest the idea of the Solans seat falling into the hands of one of the euro zone's smaller countries.
Berlin is believed to have encouraged the Spanish government to put up a candidate because it wants the four big countries of the euro zone to be guaranteed a place on the six-person board.
Germany is looking anxiously at what will happen when its current representative, Prof Otmar Issing, reaches the end of his term in 2006. Berlin does not want the principle established that each of the smaller countries is entitled to a turn on the governing board.
Growing tension between small countries and large ones will make more delicate the task of the Minster for Finance, Mr McCreevy, who as chair of the Eurogroup and of Ecofin is supposed to broker an agreement. In turn that hinders his freedom to promote the candidacy of Mr Tutty.
