The European Central Bank has asked eurozone leaders to begin the process of selecting a successor to Isabel Schnabel, a move that could launch a package of personnel negotiations, including the position held by Lagarde. A spokesperson for the President of the European Council said: "I can confirm that President António Costa has received a letter from Governor Lagarde requesting the launch of the formal procedure for the appointment of a new member of the ECB's Executive Board." The President of the European Council chairs summits of EU government heads. An EU official confirmed that the request calls for the relevant process to begin immediately.

This step places the responsibility on the Eurogroup. The Eurogroup, composed of eurozone finance ministers and chaired by Greece's Kyriakos Pierrakakis, will meet in Luxembourg on October 8 and will discuss the issue at the first opportunity, after which it may open a call for candidates for the position. Since Schnabel is German, much of the pressure now shifts to Berlin. Germany has just suffered defeats in three regional elections amid domestic political turmoil, yet it still needs to move forward with a personnel nomination. Both France and Germany want to retain seats on the Executive Board; after Spanish Deputy Governor Luis de Guindos stepped down earlier this year, Spain is seeking a seat and has put forward Bank for International Settlements General Manager Pablo Hernández de Cos to compete for the executive position.

The main rival for the ECB post is former Dutch central bank governor Klaas Knot, and it is currently impossible to determine who has the advantage. Last week, the prime ministers of the two countries publicly backed their respective candidates on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. On Wednesday, Lagarde gave her clearest signal to date that she may step down early and will not serve until October 2027. She said in an interview: "I do not rule out leaving a few months before the end of my term." An ECB spokesperson declined to comment.