The European Central Bank adopts an opinion on the appointment of a new President

Today the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) adopted an opinion on a recommendation from the Council of the European Union on the appointment of a new ECB President.

The Governing Council had no objections to the proposed candidate, Jean-Claude Trichet, who is a person of recognised standing and professional experience in monetary or banking matters, as required by Article 112(2)(b) of the Treaty establishing the European Community.

Following this ECB opinion and an opinion of the European Parliament, the new ECB President will be appointed by common accord of the governments of the Member States which have adopted the single currency at the level of Heads of State or Government.

The ECB opinion, which will be published shortly in the Official Journal of the European Union, is available on the ECB's website in all the official Community languages.