Divided EU taps Bulgaria’s Georgieva as IMF candidate

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Sofia: EU ministers on Friday chose the Bulgarian number two of the World Bank Kristalina Georgieva as the bloc’s candidate to become IMF chief, in a fractious vote that failed to heal bitter divisions between member states. Georgieva, if appointed, would become the second female managing director of the International Monetary Fund after Christine Lagarde who has stepped down to head the European Central Bank. The Bulgarian economist is “now the European candidate for the new managing director of the IMF. She has all the required skills to successfully lead the IMF,” French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who led the process, wrote on Twitter. After the announcement, Georgieva said she was honoured to be the EU’s nominee. “It is an honour to be nominated as a candidate for the role,” she said on Twitter, adding that she “requested administrative leave” from her post as World Bank CEO. But officials warned that Friday’s vote, an unprecedented step called by France in a bid to bridge divisions between Paris and Berlin and north and south, may not represent the end of the issue due to a series of possible snags. news desk