Mr Trichet is a widely respected banker

French president Jacques Chirac succeeded in wringing an agreement from the heads of the 15 member states, after earlier encountering resistance from current EU president Greece.

The final decision will still have to be cleared by the European Parliament.

But Mr Trichet now looks almost certain to take over from current ECB President Wim Duisenberg in October.

Market uncertainty

Mr Chirac lobbied hard to get Mr Trichet the top job at the bank, which is responsible for managing the single European currency.

Under the agreement, hammered out a three day summit in Greece, the EU leaders will invite their finance ministers to approve Mr Trichet's candidacy.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said the leaders' endorsement was necessary to prevent market uncertainty.

"If no decision had been taken, I would have feared irritation on the financial markets," Mr Schroder told reporters.

Mr Trichet's nomination was made possible earlier this week when he was cleared of involvement in the Credit Lyonnais banking scandal in the 1990s.

He was one of nine men on trial for their part in the affair, which culminated in a 31bn-euro ($33.7bn) bailout by the government.