Lagarde to step down on February 7, 2027
Christine Lagarde will step down as President of the European Central Bank (ECB) on February 7, 2027. She informed the Governing Council and European Council President António Costa of her decision.
Leadership changes and T2 access
Lagarde notified officials on October 29, 2026.
The Governing Council also appointed Petra Senkovic as Legal Committee chair from November 1, when she becomes Director General Legal Services.
She succeeds the retiring Chiara Zilioli and serves until December 31, 2028, matching other committee chairs' terms.
On October 21, the Council approved a T2 Currency Participation Agreement with Sveriges Riksbank following a positive onboarding assessment by the Market Infrastructure Board.
It also approved an updated agreement with Danmarks Nationalbank incorporating changes applicable to all such agreements introduced during Sveriges Riksbank's onboarding.
The respective parties subsequently signed both agreements.
Legal opinions and clearer accounts
The Council adopted CON/2026/30 on October 1 at Belgium's request, covering management bans under market abuse rules.
On October 8, it adopted CON/2026/31 on Central Bank of Cyprus governance and conflicts of interest and CON/2026/32 on Slovenian cash access and payment services.
On October 22, Guideline ECB/2026/28 amended the Eurosystem accounting framework to improve transparency.
A revised consolidated annual balance sheet changes classifications under sundry items, reserves, accumulated losses carried forward and annual profit or loss; publication on EUR-Lex will follow.
Cooperation reaches two more countries
The Council extended Western Balkans cooperation to Moldova and Ukraine on October 8. Deutsche Bundesbank coordinates the European Commission-funded programme involving 21 European System of Central Banks national central banks.
Its third phase runs for three years from 2026, with separate Moldova-Ukraine and WB6 components.
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