The Belgian government supports Nadia Calviño to be the next president of the European Investment Bank. This was communicated this Thursday to his colleagues at Ecofin in a letter first reported by Politico and whose content was confirmed by EL MUNDO. The endorsement of Minister Vincent van Peteghem is relevant not only because of his country's 5% voting rights, but also because Belgium currently holds the rotating presidency of the institution's Board of Governors, and is therefore in charge of the procedure for the succession of the German Werner Hoyer. That is to say, the one who has to make the informal consultations, the only one or the one who knows best on which foot each capital is limping and the one who decides when it is put to the vote. And it has spoken out.

"The communication from the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the European Investment Bank (EIB) that has been reported in the media is good news, a step forward in the process of electing the next president of this international body. From this step it can be inferred that, based on the consultations carried out by the president of the Board of Governors, Nadia Calviño is the only candidate who gathers sufficient support to achieve a consensus," explain more than satisfied Spanish government sources.

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Calviño stumbles on Italy's plan to appoint Vestager to the EIB and complicates his express departure from the government

  • Written by: CARLOS SEGOVIA Madrid

Calviño stumbles on Italy's plan to appoint Vestager to the EIB and complicates his express departure from the government

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France suspects exchange of favours between Sánchez and Scholz: Calviño to the EIB and Frankfurt instead of Madrid for AMLA's headquarters

  • Written by: CARLOS SEGOVIA Madrid

France suspects exchange of favours between Sánchez and Scholz: Calviño to the EIB and Frankfurt instead of Madrid for AMLA's headquarters

Officially, there are still five official candidates. Calviño, the Danish Margrethe Vestager, Vice-President on leave of absence from the European Commission; Italy's Daniele Franco, who was Mario Draghi's minister. And the Polish Teresa Czerwinska and the Swede Thomas Östros, both vice-presidents of the EIB at present. None have withdrawn and none, at least for the moment, has sufficient support. The requirements say that it must have the vote of 18 countries and the backing of 68% of the Bank's capital, which is not distributed equally among the 27, but according to their contributions. Like this. France and Germany have 18% of the total each, while Spain has just over 11%.

Berlin officially supports Spain, as does Portugal. Vestager has Denmark, Greece and a number of small or Nordic countries. And he would even count on Italy's if Daniele Franco were to be ruled out. The only major government that has not yet made a statement is France, which has been negotiating with Spain for the price of its support for many weeks.

Belgium has grown tired of passivity. A few weeks ago, Minister Van Peteghem publicly reproached Berlin and Paris for their silence. And with the decision to give its support to Spain today, it sends a clear message, because it would be frankly strange for the country that knows who has the most votes and support to choose another in this long and complicated race.

The aim is for ministers to vote for the first time next week, during the Ecofin that will bring everyone together in Brussels to discuss fiscal rules. "In the Government we have always pointed out that the candidacy of the First Vice-President is strong and we believe that she is the ideal person to occupy such an important position in a European institution of such weight as the EIB. In any case, we remain cautious," say the same government sources. The decision must be made before January 1, when Germany's Hoyer retires after more than a decade at the helm of the bank.

  • Nadia Calviño