By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – The European Central Bank’s Staff Committee has urged ECB President Christine Lagarde and the Executive Board to provide clarity about possible senior departures and safeguard the continuity of internal reforms, warning that prolonged leadership uncertainty could undermine trust in the institution’s communications and complicate succession planning.

The committee made the appeal in a September 11 letter addressed to Lagarde and the other five Executive Board members. Econostream was able to obtain a copy of the letter.

The committee said it was addressing the institutional consequences of speculation that Lagarde and Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel could leave before their terms expire. It expressly declined to assess whether the reports were true and said its concern did not extend to the two officials’ freedom to consider future roles.

“Prolonged uncertainty regarding the future of the institution’s senior leadership can therefore affect trust in the ECB’s communications, create concern among staff and stakeholders, and complicate the orderly planning of leadership succession and strategic priorities,” the committee wrote.

The committee recalled Lagarde’s recent comment that “when there are clouds on the horizon, the captain stays on the ship.” While Lagarde had been referring to the external economic and inflation environment, the committee said the principle also applied internally to the condition of the ECB, staff confidence and the quality of its governance.

Successive surveys had shown deteriorating confidence in areas including perceived favoritism, the meritocratic nature of recruitment and promotions, and employees’ ability to express dissenting views without fearing negative consequences, the committee said.

It cited the ECB’s 2025 staff survey, in which only 40% of respondents said they could express their views freely without such fear. Among employees in salary bands A through H who had worked at the ECB for at least five years, the share was 29%, the committee said.

“If staff hesitate to challenge prevailing views, raise uncomfortable evidence, acknowledge uncertainty or alert management to weaknesses, the ECB cannot make full use of the expertise it has recruited,” the committee wrote.

The committee welcomed the board’s recognition that employees’ willingness to speak openly, the incentives created by its career system and trust in its procedures needed attention. It said any remedies now being developed had to be completed and shown to work.

A succession of board-level departures could disrupt that effort, the committee warned, as incoming officials would need time to master the problems and responsibility for carrying the changes through could dissipate. The reform program could consequently lose momentum.

“We accordingly invite you to provide appropriate clarity regarding potential leadership transitions and to place these reforms on a durable institutional footing, with clear ownership, concrete milestones and transparent accountability,” the committee wrote.

It said board members should leave their successors an institution stronger not only in delivering price stability but also in governance and staff confidence.