Christine Lagarde's successor to IMF must be European, ministers say

The next managing director of the International Monetary Fund must be European, French and Spanish finance ministers announced on Monday at the start of discussions on the successor to Christine Lagarde.

"What we want in France is first to have a candidate from the European Union who can succeed Lagarde to the IMF Secondly, we want to be able to make a decision quickly. Thirdly, I want it to be a unique candidate presented by the EU, without any unnecessary rivalries, "said Frenchman Bruno Le Maire in Brussels on Monday. Nadia Calvino of Spain added that it was "a priority" to nominate a European.

European leaders proposed Lagarde last week to appoint Lagarde instead of Mario Draghi as President of the European Central Bank, which has led to speculation about the continuation of the European tradition at the IMF. The last 11 funds of the fund are European.