Ewald Nowotny

The Greek government has proposed the reappointment of Yannis Stournaras as governor of the Bank of Greece, the country's central bank, a government spokesman said on Tuesday.

The European Central Bank (ECB) appointed Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras chairman of the European bank's Audit Committee.

Stournaras had been elected member of the ECB's Audit Committee in September 2018.

In his new capacity he replaces Ewald Nowotny, former governor of Oesterreichische Nationalbank.

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank has named Greek central bank chief Yannis Stournaras as a member of the council's audit committee, replacing Erkki Liikanen, the Bank of Greece said on Friday.

The European Central Bank should start normalizing its monetary policy, one of its most experienced members, Ewald Nowotny, said on April 10.

Veteran European Central Bank policymaker Ewald Nowotny has backed turning the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) into a IMF-styled lender and for it to take over from the ECB in Greece's bailout program.

Financial markets may have been disappointed by the European Central Bank's latest round of policy moves, but it still has other measures up its sleeve to boost recovery in the euro area, executive board member Yves Mersch said.  

"As the Gauls say, if the sky doesn't fall in, we still have other ammunition we can use," Mersch told journalists at a dinner late on Dec. 9.  

Talks in Brussels between the Greek delegation and the EU institutions might be ongoing in an effort to reach a final-hour solution and avert a country leaving the Eurozone for the first time, but back in Greece the suffocation of the Greek economy continues.

Upon the recent news concerning the resignation of Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, a number of EU leaders have stated their opinions.

Meanwhile, discussions on the Greek referendum results and the best steps forward in the Greek fiscal crisis are taking place all over Brussels.

European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny acknowledged on Monday calculating the costs of a Greek exit from the eurozone, a rare admission from a central banker as Athens struggles to reach a deal with its creditors.

His comments underscored the sense of urgency in Europe.

By John O'Donnell & Georgina Prodhan

European Central Bank policymakers played down the prospects of any immediate loosening of funding for cash-strapped Greece, saying that when it came to accepting the country's bonds as security for central bank credit, the answer remained no.