The Belgian finance minister and president of the Board 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, it considers that she has sufficient support to lead the organization from January 1, 2024.
As ‘Politico’ has advanced and EL PERIÓDICO has confirmed from European sources, the Belgian Finance Minister will send a letter to your 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, Commerce and Business of Spain, Nadia Calviño, is the only candidate for the Presidency of the European Investment Bank (EIB) that gathers enough support to achieve a consensus.
Spanish Government sources have considered that the decision announced this Thursday by the president of the EIB Board of Governors constitutes “Good news” and “one step forward.”
Despite transmitting a message of caution, until the meeting of EU Economy and Finance Ministers (Ecofin) on December 8 to adopt the final decision, the same government sources maintain that from Van Peteghem’s announcement, “it is inferred that Nadia Calviño is the only candidate who gathers enough support to achieve a consensus” that will grant him the presidency of the EIB.
Changes in the Government
The appointment of Calviño to the presidency of the EIB will force the current first vice president and Minister of Economy, Commerce and Business to abandon her current positions in the newly formed Government of Pedro Sánchez.
On the morning of this same Thursday, the President of the Government praised the figure of the Spanish minister and expressed confidence in the success of her candidacy. In an interview on TVE1, Sánchez admitted that “any idea” had about the person who could be Calviño’s replacement at the head of the Economy Department if she was elected to preside over the EIB. In any case, according to Sánchez, the replacement would not occur until the end of the year.
In the pools there is the possibility that the substitute is the current one Minister of Digital Transformation and former Minister of Social Security, José Luis Escrivá. However, not all analysts’ opinions agree on this option.
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 woman also remained in the race Teresa Czerwinskathe Italian Daniele Franco and the swedish Thomas Östro.
Ecofin, December 8
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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 Ecofin vote on December 8. In that meeting Calviño must convene the support of 18 Member States representing 68% of the EIB capital. The prior consultations carried out by the president of the EIB Board of Governors have led Van Peteghem to confirm that Calviño’s is the only one of the five candidatures that he satisfies. those two conditionsaccording to European sources.
“In the Government we have always indicated that the candidacy of the first vice president is strong and we believe that she is the ideal person to occupy such a relevant position in a European institution of such weight as the EIB. In any case, we remain cautious“, point out sources from the Spanish Executive.