On 16 January, during its plenary session, the European Parliament voted in favor of the German nominee to the ECB Executive Board, Ms Sabine Lautenschläger. The Council sent her name to the EP for consultation last week. Final decision on the appointment is to be taken by the 18 euro-area member states´ votes in the European Council. Ms Lautenschläger will replace Mr Jörg Asmussen as the executive board member. Mr Asmussen resigned from the board last December in order to become deputy labour minister in the new German coalition government. Ms Lautenschläger is currently vice-president of the Bundesbank. During her hearing at the EP Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, she stressed the importance of a functionning Single Resolution Mechanism for the euro-area as part of the banking union. Concerning the ECB´s role in the current euro-crisis, Ms Lautenschläger is said to be more reserved towards the policy of ECB president Mario Draghi and supports a more restrictive monetary policy.

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