Mr Papademos' appointment sparked a row with Belgium

The competition to succeed Mr Duisenberg is certain to be fierce, and the French - citing a supposed "gentlemen's agreement" before the ECB's creation - say they have a right to supply his successor.

Only 14 of the 15 EU finance ministers voted for Mr Papdemos; Belgium abstained, meaning further talks are necessary.

As one of six small countries with no representation on the six-member ECB board, Belgium was upset to have its candidate, academic Paul de Grauwe, overlooked.

And the accidental posting of news of the appointment to the ECB's website ahead of the official announcement also proved controversial.

Another Enron?

Among other items high on the Ecofin agenda were the ramifications of the Enron scandal gripping corporate America, amid worries that a similar crisis could easily occur in Europe.

"The European Union needs to take steps to prevent something similar occurring here," said Frits Bolkestein, Europe's internal market commissioner.

In response, the meeting decided to ask an existing expert group on company law to report on the collapse of the US energy company amid allegations of false accounting on a massive scale.

The group, ministers said, needed to examine both companies' internal and external reporting and controls, and how investment analysts examine and rate the corporations they cover.