A spokesperson for European Council President COSTA confirmed the ECB has asked EU leaders to begin a selection process for Chief Economist Philip Lane’s successor, opening the contest for an Executive Board seat that becomes vacant on June 1. The procedural move lets eurozone officials bundle Lane’s vacancy with negotiations over the ECB presidency (Christine Lagarde) and Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel’s seat; Spain’s De Cos and the Netherlands’ Knot are viewed as frontrunners to replac

A spokesperson for European Council President COSTA confirmed the ECB has asked EU leaders to begin a selection process for Chief Economist Philip Lane’s successor, opening the contest for an Executive Board seat that becomes vacant on June 1. The procedural move lets eurozone officials bundle Lane’s vacancy with negotiations over the ECB presidency (Christine Lagarde) and Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel’s seat; Spain’s De Cos and the Netherlands’ Knot are viewed as frontrunners to replace Lagarde, while France and Germany may each secure the other two Executive Board posts to preserve their representation.