Mersch appointed to ECB amid continuing controversy

Yves Mersch, director-general of the Central Bank of Luxembourg, will fill the vacant position on the European Central Bank's (ECB) executive board, despite opposition from the European Parliament due to the lack of female candidates.

The European Council, which has final say in the decision, today (November 23) said Mersch would start his eight-year term on December 15. Mersch replaces José Manuel González-Paramo, whose tenure ended on May 31 this year.

The selection process was delayed when Sharon Bowles, chair of the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, on September 7 raised objections about the lack of female candidates being considered for the role. In October, the European Parliament voted against Mersch's appointment, but appears to have been overruled by the Council, which chooses a candidate based on consultations with the Parliament and ECB.

Bowles was not available for comment, but in a statement she attacked the decision, saying it made a mockery of the democratic process. "Today the EU's heads of state have sent a clear signal of what their idea of a democratic process is: a tool to be upheld in form and discarded when its truths are inconvenient," she said.

Bowles warned the decision could cause further damage to efforts to improve democratic processes in Europe. "Today's decision also undermines and discredits work being undertaken to make the EU's economic governance system more democratically accountable," she said.

A European Union official explained the choice was limited to those proposed by member states. Three candidates were proposed - all male - one Spanish and one Slovenian, besides Mersch, although the official would not name them. "During the course of this process, the president of the European Council appealed to heads of state and government to identify and propose good female candidates," he said.

The ECB has had no women on the executive board since Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell's term ended in May 2011. Just two women have held positions on the board since the central bank was founded, and no further appointments are due to be made until May 31, 2018, when vice-president Vítor Constâncio's term ends.

In a statement published on the Central Bank of Luxembourg's website, Mersch said he was "pleased with the outcome". He added he was "fully aware" of the responsibility and challenges that came with the position.

Mersch has been director-general of the Central Bank of Luxembourg since 1998. Before joining the central bank he was a member of Luxembourg's finance ministry, later becoming director of the Treasury. He also served as part of Luxembourg's delegation to the United Nations and was seconded to the International Monetary Fund.

Mersch will be succeeded at the central bank by Gaston Reinesch, who is currently a director-general at the Ministry of Finance and a member of the board of directors at the European Investment Bank.