European Union central bankers would lose some influence in economic policy discussions under a proposal that will be put to the bloc's finance ministers in June, a senior EU official said today.
Mr Johnny Akerholm, the Finn who chairs the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), also said Germany's Mr Caio Koch-Weser was the sole candidate to take over as chairman when he leaves for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in May.
The plan to reform the EFC aims to prevent the influential body, which prepares the ground for EU finance ministers' meetings, from becoming unwieldy after 10 more states join the EU in 2004.
EU diplomats said the plan already had tentative support at an informal finance ministers' meeting in Athens in April.
The committee currently consists of two representatives from each of the current 15 EU states, one from the treasury and the other from the central bank, plus senior European Commission and European Central Bank officials.
To prevent numbers from swelling after enlargement, the plan envisages excluding central bankers from some discussions.
"The idea is that the EFC will in the future convene in two configurations. One, which is the current one with everyone present, will discuss the economic situation, policy questions . . . and international questions," Mr Akerholm told journalists after testifying before the European Parliament.
"Then, when we are focusing on preparation for Ecofin issues, it would convene with the format of only the Treasury members".