This week's meeting of EU finance ministers could determine if Mr Michael Tutty, a former senior Department of Finance official, joins the six-person executive board of the European Central Bank (ECB).
Mr Tutty, who served under several ministers for finance, is currently Irish vice-president of the European Investment Bank (EIB). Before that he was second secretary in charge of the budget and economic division in the Department of Finance.
The ministers are also expected to discuss who should succeed Mr Horst Köhler as managing director of the International Monetary Fund, a post that is traditionally held by a European.
Ministers from the 12 euro-zone member-states are expected to discuss both appointments when they meet in Brussels this evening. The appointments are not on the agenda of a separate meeting of all EU finance ministers tomorrow, but they are likely to be discussed informally over lunch.
Mr Tutty is one of three candidates to have been nominated so far to succeed Mr Eugenio Domingo Solans, a Spanish central banker whose term on the ECB's executive board ends on May 31st.
Belgium has proposed Mr Peter Praet, a director of its central bank and Spain has nominated Mr Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo.
Ireland and Belgium are among four euro-zone member-states that have not yet been represented on the executive board. A number of large states are backing the Spanish candidate in the hope of ending the system of rotation among member-states and ensuring that the big states are always represented.
Germany is especially eager to ensure that, when the ECB's chief economist, Prof Otmar Issing, steps down in 2006, his successor is German.
ECB appointments have been made by consensus until now but finance ministers agreed last month that they could vote by qualified majority if unanimity is not found. A majority vote would favour the Spanish candidate, in view of the support of large states which carry most votes in the Council of Ministers.
The ECB appointment has been complicated, however, by Mr Köhler's decision to resign from the IMF to become the candidate of the centre-right to succeed Mr Johannes Rau as German president.
Germany has indicated that it will not nominate anyone for the IMF job and Britain's chancellor, Mr Gordon Brown, has ruled himself out for the post.
France is expected to back Mr Jean Lemierre, head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Italy could propose its former prime minister, Mr Giulio Amato and Britain may nominate Mr Andrew Crockett, head of the Bank for International Settlements.
The strongest candidate to be mentioned so far, however, is Spain's finance minister, Mr Rodrigo Rato, who received the public endorsement of his prime minister, Mr Jose Maria Aznar, on Saturday. If Mr Rato is sent to Washington, the finance ministers are unlikely to appoint another Spaniard to the ECB executive board, leaving the field free to Mr Tutty and Mr Praet.
