Speaking ahead of the vote on the appointment of Frank Elderson as a member of the executive board of the European Central Bank, Jonás Fernández, S&D spokesperson for economic and monetary affairs, said

“We Socialists and Democrats cannot support the appointment of Frank Elderson to the ECB’s executive board in the vote in the economic committee. This vote does not put into question his professional competence and value, but rejects the appointment procedure leading to his nomination. After today’s hearing, we are firmly convinced that Mr. Elderson is a highly qualified and very suitable candidate for the job, and we share with him his commitment to sustainable finance and his aspirations for the role central banks can play in combatting the climate emergency. 

 “Yet, we are deeply disappointed by the Eurogroup’s utter lack of ambition to put more women in top finance jobs and their total disregard for the Parliament’s position on the issue. Last year, this Parliament passed a resolution calling for gender-balanced short lists. The economic committee sent a letter to the Eurogroup expressing our discontent and met with their president to discuss the appointment procedure. But, to no avail. This is why we are left with no other recourse than to vote against this nomination in order to send a strong signal to the Eurogroup that they must finally get serious about putting more women in top finance positions.

“It is simply unacceptable that in the 21st century nearly every single board of European finance and economic institutions is almost exclusively filled with men. We urge the Eurogroup to come forward with a strategy to ensure we will soon have more women in top finance jobs.”