EU horsetrading

The government of Chancellor Angela Merkel has continued its push to have Axel Weber, the current president of the German central bank, the Bundesbank, appointed as the next president of the European Central Bank (ECB).

German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported that Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble was expected to push for Weber's nomination at a meeting with his counterparts from the 15 other EU countries that use the euro currency.

The finance ministers plan to name a replacement for the ECB's current vice president, Lucas Papademos, at the two-day gathering starting Monday.

Schaeuble was expected to press for Portuguese central banker Vitor Manuel Ribeiro Constancio to take over as new ECB vice president.

The appointment of a southern European to the post would be an important strategic victory for Germany. Constancio's accession to the position would make it more likely that a northern European would be appointed to the ECB's top post. That position is currently held by Frenchman Jean-Claude Trichet, who steps down in late 2011.

Paris' support

Germany, Europe's largest economy, complained recently that it was underrepresented in the ECB's leadership, with Schaeuble insisting that "in the current composition of the board of directors southern European countries, with three directors from Greece, Italy and Spain, are unusually strongly represented."

Weber's main opponent for the position of ECB head is Bank of Italy Governor Mario Draghi.

In an important step towards securing the top post for Weber, Germany looked to have gained the support of France, which is considered the unofficial leader of the southern European bloc within the central bank.

German weekly Die Welt am Sonntag reported that Paris had agreed to support Weber's candidacy in return for Berlin's support for a French representative to become the ECB's next chief economist, a post currently held by Juergen Stark, a German.

dfm/AFP/dpa

Editor: Nancy Isenson