France came under fire from its European partners yesterday for nominating its own candidate to run the future European Central Bank (ECB), rivalling the favourite, Dutchman Mr Wim Duisenberg.
Paris said on Tuesday it was nominating Bank of France governor Mr Jean-Claude Trichet to the post, likely to be one of the most powerful jobs in Europe after the launch of Economic and Monetary Union in January 1999.
German Chancellor, Dr Helmut Kohl did not give a response one way or the other on France's nomination Mr Trichet during an hour-long meeting with President Jacques Chirac yesterday, Mr Chirac's spokeswoman, Ms Catherine Colonna, said.
However, earlier, arriving for a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels yesterday, German Finance Minister Mr Theo Waigel said the nomination created a difficult situation in Europe.
It appeared France's decision would encourage others to enter the race for one of the most prestigious jobs in international finance.
Spanish officials said Mr Luis Angel Rojo, governor of the Bank of Spain, was a likely candidate. The name of Mr Philippe Maystadt, the highly-regarded Belgian finance minister and chairman of the International Monetary Fund interim committee, was also being mentioned.
"The nomination of Mr Trichet means there will be four of five candidates," predicted one EU diplomat.
Earlier this year, Mr Duisenberg, the former Dutch central bank chief, took over the helm of the European Monetary Institute, the ECB's forerunner.
French officials have stressed that Germany had been informed for a long time that France was considering naming its own candidate for the ECB job. Bonn government sources said yesterday, however, that there had been no deal between France and Germany on sharing out the top jobs at the ECB.
France appears to be driven by both political and personal reasons in putting up its own candidate for the ECB.
Officials make little secret of their dislike for Mr Duisenberg, seen in Paris as a clone of Bundesbank head, Dr Hans Tietmeyer. On the political front, France has lost out to Germany on a number of key issues on monetary union, and winning the ECB job could redress the balance.
