Spain will bid for an executive position in the ECB without disclosing its candidate

The Government spokesman, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, said today that Spain will bid for a position on the executive committee at the European Central Bank (ECB) next May but not will reveal who the candidate will be.

Brussels, Nov 21 (EFE) .- Government spokesman, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, said today that Spain will bid for a position on the executive committee at the European Central Bank (ECB) next May but will not reveal who will be the candidate.

"At the moment, what we contemplate is to go back to the executive committee of the European Central Bank (...). that position, which is important, I insist, and then we will put the person, "the government spokesman and head of Education, in the margins of a council of ministers of Youth, Education, Culture and Sports.

Méndez de Vigo said that Spain will first fight the job and then attribute the place and not the other way around because "there would be expectations that they could be frustrated. "

" The position on the executive committee at the European Central Bank is very important, "said the government spokesman, who reiterated that Economy Minister Luis de Guindos, will not choose to replace the Dutchman Jeroen Dijsselbloem as president of the Eurogroup on December 4.

The ECB's executive committee is currently composed of its president, Mario Draghi, by its vice-president, Vítor Constâncio, and by a French member, Benoît Coeuré, a German, Sabine Lautenschläger, a Belgian, Peter Praet, and a Luxemburgish, Yves Mersch.

In 2012, Spain presented the candidate Antonio Sáinz de Vicuña, who served as director of the ECB's legal services, as a candidate for the replacement of outgoing José Manuel González-Páramo, but the position was finally for the governor of the Bank of Luxembourg, Yves Mersch.

"It was the will of some, who were the majority, to have in the executive committee of the ECB to three countries that were triple A and three that were not. Spain has to go back there and I am quite convinced that it will be, "said the government spokesman.

Méndez de Vigo insisted that in 2012" there was a political will of collect three 'triple A's' (maximum rating attributed by the rating agencies to the sovereign debt) and three that were not. "

" It was our turn to have chosen because Portugal. post, and after the prick yesterday of Barcelona as the new headquarters of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), Méndez de Vigo added that "Spain has a huge political capital in the European Union" because he has always worked for the "European construction" and has shown that he knows how to overcome the "challenges" such as the recent economic crisis.