Benoeming bestuurslid ECB omstreden in Europees Parlement (en)

MEPs have approved the nomination of former German finance minister Jurgen Stark to the six-strong board of the European Central Bank (ECB).

But the go-ahead was not given without criticism from centre-left MEPs wanting the Bank to pursue growth and employment as well as price stability.

In a hearing in the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on Wednesday (19 April), Mr Stark made clear that his main priority was to fight inflation.

"The best contribution of a central bank towards growth and employment in the medium term is to achieve price stability," he said.

His appointment came in for flak from the committee chair, French socialist MEP Pervenche Beres, who spoke out in a later interview with German daily FT Deutschland.

"Finance ministers should not on the one hand criticise the ECB for lifting interest rates and at the same time appoint someone, who is supportive of the trend of the raising of interest rates of the bank," she said.

Mr Stark is nominated to succeed Otmar Issing, the ECB's chief economist, who stands down on 31 May.

He is known as a "hawk" on fiscal discipline, helping to formulate eurozone rules as deputy finance minister under former Chancellor Helmut Kohl in the 1990s.

The euro rules oblige governments to keep budget deficits below three percent of gross domestic product.

The majority of MEPs on the monetary committee approved the appointment on Wednesday, but Ms Beres' criticism was supported by a large minority.

She argued that deals between member states on nominating particular candidates could undermine the independence of the central bank.

The six current board members are: Jean-Claude Trichet of France, Lucas D. Papademos from Greece, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi of Italy, Spain's Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo, German Otmar Issing and Austria's Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell.

Mr Stark's nomination will be voted on in the European Parliament's plenary in May, while the ECB governing council has already given a positive assessment.

Mr Stark's first step as a board member could well be to approve the ECB's third rate increase since December, as spiking oil prices keep pushing up consumer prices.