European MPs Raise Red Flag Over Men-Only ECB Succession List

(Bloomberg) -- European Union lawmakers have raised a red flag over the nomination of Frank Elderson to succeed outgoing Yves Mersch on the European Central Bank's top policy team, potentially setting the stage for a showdown.

In a statement on Tuesday, Luis Garicano, a member of the European Parliament and its influential Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, chided governments for failing to offer a gender-balanced shortlist.

While the race to replace Mersch promised an opportunity to increase the number of women on the ECB's six-member board -- currently at two -- only the names of two men were put forward.

“We need to introduce effective tools to redress gender imbalance in the EU's top financial institutions,” he said. “By failing to nominate a female candidate, the Eurogroup has missed a historic opportunity to reverse the gender gap in top finance jobs.”

Elderson was nominated by euro-area finance ministers this week over Slovenian rival Bostjan Jazbec, but he'll also be scrutinized by the European Parliament. There's a precedent for the body digging in its heels. It held up Mersch's original appointment for months for lack of female candidates.

“The ECB, as an official EU institution, must lead by example, and the Eurogroup should have also proposed female candidates for this position,” lawmaker Samira Rafaela said.

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