European Union finance ministers have selected Spanish academic Mr Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo for a vacancy at the European Central Bank's board but took no decision on who will head the IMF.
The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, present chairman of the EU finance ministers, said the ministers had unanimously selected Mr Gonzalez-Paramo to join the ECB's Executive Board. But other ministers said the decision had not been clear-cut.
The fact the ministers picked Gonzalez-Paramo as their choice for the ECB's six-strong board makes it highly likely that government leaders will rubber-stamp his appointment before Spaniard Mr Eugenio Domingo Solans steps down on May 31st.
The European Parliament will grill Mr Gonzalez-Paramo in a hearing in April and the ECB also has to give its opinion. But neither of the two institutions can veto his candidacy.
Earlier, a Dutch official said there were some differences of opinion prior the agreement but that it was now important all member states supported the appointment.
The ministers had not linked the decision about the ECB posting to the position of Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, which became vacant after Mr Horst Koehler resigned earlier this month to run for Germany's largely ceremonial presidency.
"Tonight there were only tentative soundings, our main concern was the ECB vacancy," said Mr McCreevy.
"We are very anxious that everyone unites around a European candidate (for the IMF)," Mr McCreevy added.
Mr Gonzalez-Paramo, a 45-year-old fiscal expert with a reputation for orthodoxy, is an academic who has divided his time between the Bank of Spain, where he has been an executive board member since 1998, and Madrid's Complutense University, where he has been professor of public finance since 1988.
Outgoing Spanish Finance Minister Rodrigo Rato has so far been the only candidate officially named for the IMF job. Italy also said it had a candidate, but refused to mention a name.
Media reports have suggested France is interested in securing the job for Mr Jean Lemierre, who presently heads the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.