Eurozone finance ministers agree on new central bank vice president

The Croatian Boris Vujcic is set to take up the position of vice president at the European Central Bank in the future, the finance ministers of the eurozone countries decided on Monday.

The finance ministers of the countries that use the euro common currency agreed on Vujcic's appointment at a meeting in Brussels.

The position will become vacant when the current ECB vice president, the Spaniard Luis de Guindos, leaves office as planned at the end of May.

The appointment is to be confirmed by the EU's leaders at their summit at the end of March. The 61-year-old Vujcic is currently head of Croatia's central bank.

Germany has supported the nomination of the Croatian, according to government sources. "It is important to us to acknowledge the efforts of the new euro member states. Croatia also stands for a solid monetary policy."

In the Adriatic country, the euro has been used since 2023.

ECB top position also needs to be filled

The term of ECB President Christine Lagarde also ends one and a half years later, in October 2027.

Speculation about the Frenchwoman's successor is already under way. Among others, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel and prominent member of the ECB's executive board Isabel Schnabel, both Germans, have thrown their hats into the ring.

When filling the position, negotiators usually consider maintaining a balance between small and large, southern and northern eurozone countries.

This also applies to the balance between proponents of a strict monetary policy and advocates of a more relaxed approach.