This Friday's Ecofin was able to clear its future, after the president of the EIB Board of Governors has proposed Calviño

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, assumed this Thursday that the First Vice President and Minister of Economy, Commerce and Business, Nadia Calviño, will be appointed this Friday as the new president of the European Investment Bank (EIB).

"Tomorrow, eventually, the decision will be made to appoint her, but later, in a EIB council, she has to be officially appointed and then make the transfer," said Sánchez in an interview with Antena 3 reported by Europa Press.

The Chief Executive has specified that this transfer "will not be immediate" because it will take a few months until it materializes. "I believe that tomorrow could be a good day for Spain in its presence in the European institutions," Sánchez stressed.

The President of the Government recalled that the EIB "is a very relevant financial institution when it comes to conveying economic resources for investments linked to European funds."

The Belgian Minister of Finance and president of the EIB Board of Governors, Vincent Van Peteghem, has decided to propose Nadia Calviño as a candidate for the Presidency of the organization because, after consultations, he considers that she has sufficient support to lead from 1 January 2024 the institution.

As diplomatic sources have confirmed to Europa Press, the governors will be able to take note of the situation at the Ecofin working breakfast this Friday. The voting process could then be initiated between the Board of Directors and the Board of Governors of the EIB.

This will be done after verifying, after consultations with the Member States, that the current First Vice President and Minister of Economy, Trade and Business of Spain, Nadia Calviño, is the only candidate for the Presidency of the European Investment Bank (EIB) who brings together sufficient support to achieve consensus.

Government sources have told Europa Press that this information constitutes "good news, a step forward in the process of electing the next president of this international body."

From the Executive led by Pedro Sánchez, they have defended that the candidacy of the first vice president is strong and they consider the current head of Economy "the ideal person" to occupy such a relevant position in a European institution of such weight as the EIB.

Calviño was competing to be Werner Hoyer's successor at the head of the EIB with the until now executive vice president of the European Commission responsible for Competition, the Danish liberal Margrethe Vestager.

Also competing with them are the Polish Teresa Czerwinska, the Italian Daniele Franco and the Swede Thomas Östros, who, as diplomatic sources have confirmed to Europa Press, are still in the race pending the final vote.

FIRST WOMAN TO ASSUME THE PRESIDENCY OF THE EIB

The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has already guaranteed Germany's support for Calviño's candidacy, a very important vote for Spain because it is one of those that will have the most weight in the vote, which could take place after the meeting on December 8.

The only thing that is clear, as Europa Press has learned, is that the governors will be able to take note of the situation at the Ecofin working breakfast on December 8. The voting process could then be initiated between the Board of Directors and the Board of Governors of the EIB.

The winning candidate must gather the support of 68% of the bank's capital and at least 18 member states. The participation of each Member State is distributed based on its economic weight in the EU expressed in GDP upon entry into the Union - Spain contributes 9.66% -, which makes the support of the main economic powers of the EU.

Since its founding in 1958, the Bank has had 7 presidents, all of them men and none of them Spanish. Thus, Nadia Calviño would become the first female president of the EIB, "a milestone for the institution and for Spain," the Executive highlights.

EXPERIENCE IN THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION AND THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

It was last August when the Government announced the formal presentation of Calviño's candidacy to preside over the EIB, considering that it was a "strong commitment due to the experience" of the vice president who has 12 years in the senior management of the European Commission and five years in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, "successfully coordinating the economic policy of the Government of Spain."

And Nadia Calviño has previously held various positions within the European Commission and also at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where she was until recently president of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC, for its acronym in English). ).

Likewise, since she has been part of the Government of Spain, she was proposed in her category as Minister of Economy to preside over the Eurogroup last summer of 2020. On that occasion, however, she was left without obtaining the necessary votes to occupy a position that fell in the hands of the Irishman Paschal Donohoe.

SÁNCHEZ ALREADY HAS A POSSIBLE REPLACEMENT IN MIND

Sánchez has acknowledged that Calviño's departure will be "an enormous loss" for him "personally and politically." "I have a lot of affection and a lot of respect for her. It seems to me that it is very important to have women in such important portfolios for our country, such as the Digital Transformation, such as the Economy, but I think it will be good news for Spain" , has added.

Asked who will replace Calviño at the head of the Ministry of Economy, Sánchez assured that "both inside and outside the Government" there are "powerful economists."