The European Parliament today overwhelmingly backed France's Mr Jean-Claude Trichet as the European Central Bank's next president.
The legislature, meeting in Strasbourg, backed him with a 315 to 83 vote with 75 abstentions.
Mr Trichet will take up his post on November 1st and will have a strong mandate to continue the bank's present cautious policies, putting the fight against inflation first and keeping interest rates above US levels.
Mr Trichet was the only candidate and already had the backing of the European Union's 15 finance ministers and the parliament's main parties.
READ MORE
AP