The Belgian Minister of Finance and President of the Council of Governors of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Vincent Van Peteghem, has decided to propose Nadia Calviño as a candidate for the Presidency of the EIB because, after consultations, he considers that she has sufficient support to lead the organization from January 1, 2024.
According to 'Politico', the Belgian Finance Minister will send a letter to his EU counterparts supporting Nadia Calviño to assume the position of president of the EIB.
It will do so 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 meets the 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."
The Executive led by Pedro Sánchez has 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. "In any case, we continue to be cautious," these sources emphasize.
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. Along with them, the Polish Teresa Czerwinska, the Italian Daniele Franco and the Swede Thomas Östro also remained in the race.
The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has already guaranteed Germany's support for Calviño's candidacy, a very important vote for Spain because he is one of those that will have the most weight in the vote, which is expected to take place on December 8 in the meeting of the ministers of Economy and Finance of the European Union (Ecofin).
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.
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 as Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, "successfully coordinating the economic policy of the Government of Spain."
Although the jump to the EIB could be imminent, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, recently decided to bet on Calviño Santamaría so that he would once again be at the head of Spain's economic policy in this new legislature.
But now that the vice president's career path towards the EIB is clearing up, the question of Calviño's possible successor at the head of the Ministry of Economy opens up. Just this Thursday, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, acknowledged that, personally, it will be "costly" for him to do without the current First Vice President and Minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño, if he wins the Presidency of the European Investment Bank (EIB). .
"She has been a close collaborator in very difficult times and I think she has been one of the best Ministers of Economy that Spanish democracy has had," Sánchez remarked in an interview with TVE collected by Europa Press.
The Head of the Executive has also said that he only has "words of gratitude" towards Calviño, whom he has described as "an extraordinary professional and public servant", and has insisted that her appointment at the EIB would be "very good news for Spain".
"It is a very important position for Spain because many of the economic resources that come from European funds are going to be channeled through financial institutions, such as the EIB," Sánchez indicated.
The President of the Government has assured that, if his departure occurs, he will replace Calviño, although "not immediately", as "a few weeks will pass", and has acknowledged that he has "some idea" to replace her, although he did not want to give any advance notice. no name.
