European Commission President backs French Economy Minister for International Monetary Fund
May 25 (AZERTAC). European Commission President José Manuel Barroso backed French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde for the International Monetary Fund, just minutes after she had announced her candidacy at a press conference in Paris today.
"I fully endorse the candidacy of Mrs. Christine Lagarde," Barroso said in a statement, adding that she is "well respected in the international community, namely as French minister of the economy, finance and industry, a member of the Eurogroup and current president of the G20 finance ministers".
France is hosting a G8 summit in Deauville today in a meeting that brings together a select club of the world`s leading nations. The EU is represented in the G8 but cannot host or chair meetings.
Both Barroso and European Council President Herman van Rompuy are attending the G8 meetings.
"It is an immense challenge which I approach with humility and in the hope of achieving the broadest possible consensus," Lagarde said at a Paris press conference.
She also appeared to insist that she was a strong candidate as a result of her capabilities, and not because she came from the EU.
"Being a European should not be a plus and it shouldn`t be a minus […] I am not arguing for my candidacy because I am a European," she said, quoted by Bloomberg.
Lagarde is well-known in Brussels, where she participated in the EU/IMF bailout plans for Greece, Ireland and Portugal in her capacity as French finance minister.
She is also seen as the candidate to ensure continuity in how the IMF is dealing with the eurozone debt crisis.
Crucially, Lagarde secured the backing of Britain and Germany over the weekend and the announcement of her candidacy today means her formal approval as Europe`s candidate should now be confirmed, although there is no formal procedure at EU level for doing so.
"To my knowledge, there is no formal procedure in the EU for such questions," said a diplomat from one of the EU`s large countries. "It has never existed," the diplomat told EurActiv.
Lagarde, a 55-year-old centre-right politician and former corporate lawyer who speaks fluent English, has won plaudits for her deft chairmanship of G20 finance minister meetings and her communication skills.
But unlike Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned last week after being charged with the attempted rape of a hotel maid in New York, she is not an economist and may struggle to match his leadership on managing the world economy, Reuters commented.
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