At the Eurogroup meeting of 11 December 2025, the process for selecting a successor to the current ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos, whose mandate will expire at the end of May 2026, was launched. The call for candidates ended today.
By the deadline, I have received 6 candidacies:
- Mário Centeno (Portugal),
- Mārtiņš Kazāks (Latvia),
- Madis Müller (Estonia),
- Olli Rehn (Finland),
- Rimantas Šadžius (Lithuania),
- Boris Vujčić (Croatia).
At its next meeting on 19 January, the Eurogroup will discuss these candidacies.
Following the Eurogroup discussion, the Council will adopt a recommendation to the European Council, acting by a reinforced qualified majority of the euro area member states. Such majority requires the support of 72% of euro area member states (i.e. at least 16 of the 21 euro area countries), representing at least 65% of the population of the euro area.
In line with the selection process established in the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, the ECB and the European Parliament will be consulted before a final decision is taken by the European Council.
