Constancio to Become ECB Vice President

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Euro-Region Nominates Constancio to Become ECB Vice President

February 15, 2010, 06:47 PM EST

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By Frances Robinson and Stephanie Bodoni

Feb. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Euro-area finance ministers nominated Portugal’s Vitor Constancio to become the next vice president of the European Central Bank, improving the chances of Germany’s Axel Weber to take the top job next year.

The finance chiefs from the 16 nations that use the euro agreed that Constancio should succeed Lucas Papademos, whose eight-year term ends on May 31, said Luxembourg’s Jean-Claude Juncker after chairing a meeting in Brussels yesterday. The decision was “unanimous” and “quick,” he said.

Constancio’s reputation as a “dove” who pays more attention to economic growth than some of his ECB colleagues increases the likelihood that Weber, an anti-inflation “hawk,” will be chosen to replace ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet when his term ends on Oct. 31 next year.