EU parliament approves Draghi as next ECB president

Italian central banker Mario Draghi won the endorsement of the European Parliament on Thursday to become the next president of the European Central Bank (ECB). The vote came hours before the start of a two-day European Union summit which is meant to give the final nod to the appointment of the 63-year-old Draghi, who is expected to succeed France's Jean-Claude Trichet as of November 1.
However, the Financial Times reported on Thursday that France may block the decision until Italy's representative in the ECB's executive board, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, agrees to step down in favour of a French official.