Austria and Germany advocate arranging the succession of the ECB President according to the traditional practice of the European Central Bank, not supporting the acceleration of the process due to the French elections.

Austrian Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer stated that he supports appointing the next President of the European Central Bank according to the usual timetable. "I believe we should stick to the usual schedule, this is not an issue related to the French elections," he told reporters in Brussels on Monday when asked if it was necessary to expedite the decision. The risk of a far-right candidate winning the French presidential election in April 2027 raised the question of whether it is necessary to finalize the successor to European Central Bank President Lagarde along with the succession arrangements for Chief Economist Philip Lane and Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel. German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil also expressed a similar position. "The European Central Bank has its own timetable, which we will adhere to, and as usual, we will find a good solution."