The Spanish Vice President and Minister of Economic Affairs, Nadia Calviño, thanked this Friday Portugal’s “decided support” for her candidacy for the European Investment Bank (EIB), in front of Margrethe Vestager, highlighting the Iberian alignment with the European institutions.
“I can only thank the decisive support that the Portuguese Government gave to my candidacy to the EIB, which reflects our absolute alignment of the position of the two Governments on European matters,” declared Nadia Calviño, speaking at the entrance to an informal meeting of Ministers of European hacienda, in the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela.
Asked by Lusa about this Portuguese support, the official said: “Fortunately, from the first moment we had the decisive support of our sister country, as expected.”
“We share a place [na vice-presidência rotativa] in the EIB and our position vis-à-vis the European institutions is 100% aligned with our neighboring country, country […] Even more neighborly being here in Galicia,” he added.
The Portuguese Government will support Nadia Calviño in the race for the leadership of the EIB, a source linked to the process told Lusa this Thursday.
The same source confirmed this Friday to Lusa that Portugal, after the conversations held in recent months, will support Nadia Calviño, considering that this candidate “is the most qualified” to take office.
Nadia Calviño is, along with the Executive Vice President of the European Commission responsible for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, one of the main candidates for the leadership of the EIB.
Added to their names are those of the former Italian minister Daniele Franco, the former Polish minister and vice president of the EIB Teresa Czerwinska, and the former Swedish Minister of Energy and current vice president of the institution Thomas Ostros.
In early September, Margrethe Vestager announced that she would be taking unpaid leave to focus on her candidacy.
This, who today is considered one of the senior officials of the institutions of the European Union (EU), is awakening, this time, the interest of several senior European officials, after having been directed for 12 years by the German Werner Hoyer, who served two six-year terms and is now leaving.
Another community source highlighted to Lusa the “renewed interest” in the leadership of the EIB, which also reflects “a new page” of the largest multilateral financial institution in the world in terms of assets and that will be crucial to support the EU in its ‘green’. ‘and digital.
The positions will emerge when EU finance ministers meet today and Saturday in Santiago de Compostela for an informal meeting, on the sidelines of which the EIB’s leadership will be discussed.
However, according to sources interviewed by Lusa, a consensus on a name among the five candidates is not expected for now, which will be more likely to occur at the ordinary meeting of those responsible for Finance control in October.
The decision is made by the EIB Board of Governors, made up of finance ministers from all EU countries.
The bank’s current president, Werner Hoyer, will step down at the end of the year, so government officials will have to name a successor until then.
Source: TSF
