madam president honourable members many thanks for your very pertinent questions
the commission welcomes the decision of the executive board of the imf on twenty may this year which clarifies the selection process for the next managing director of the imf
the commission agrees that the selection process has to be open transparent and merit-based
this will enable candidates from all imf member countries to compete on the basis of their merits taking into account all relevant aspects
the eu member states have agreed that they will back the best qualified candidate who is able to meet the high standards required to fulfil the responsibilities attached to this very important position
such a candidate will in particular need to have demonstrated strong capabilities a commitment to multilateral coordination and a great knowledge of international economic financial and monetary affairs
the commission supports this agreement
the commission fully supports the candidacy of minister christine lagarde
she is a competent and experienced candidate who has gained the respect of our partners in the international community
she not only has a very good knowledge of the european economy and eu decision making which is a merit in these times but also very strong experience in global economic governance through her successful management of the g twenty presidency for instance
let me also add that last year an agreement was reached at the g twenty summit in seoul in korea to reduce european representation in relative terms on the imf board by two seats so as to increase the voice and representation of emerging market economies
the issue of the external representation of the euro area while related to the general reform of the international monetary fund is not directly linked to the selection of the managing director of the imf
the commission is of the view that it is in the common interest of europe the union and its member states to move progressively towards a single seat for the european union or at least the euro area in the imf
gradually and progressively
mr president honourable members as you know i am fully committed to the reform and reinforcement of eu economic governance both internally and externally
in achieving this i prefer to apply the tested method of jean monnet europe is built through concrete progress in real life one step at a time taking larger and smaller steps
therefore let us first conclude the reform of our internal governance which is urgently needed and which will be a huge step forward once implemented
then let us tackle the challenge of external representation which will be another major step forward once agreed and implemented
one big step at a time
