European Central Bank president Mr Wim Duisenberg has agreed to stay on until a successor is ready to take over the top job, Greek government spokesman Mr Christos Protopapas said yesterday.

The spokesman for Athens, which currently holds the rotating European Union presidency, said Greek Prime Minister Mr Costas Simitis had formally asked Mr Duisenberg to remain in the post, following consultations with other euro-zone governments.

"\ Duisenberg accepted the proposal," Mr Protopapas told reporters at his daily briefing.

He said Mr Duisenberg, who already had announced he would stay on past his retirement date on July 9th, formalised the arrangement in a letter sent to the Greek presidency on Thursday.

Mr Duisenberg's plans to stand down on July 9th, his 68th birthday, had been clouded by a court case involving his already anointed successor, Mr Jean-Claude Trichet, Bank of France chief.

Mr Trichet is awaiting a June 18th verdict in a trial where he is charged with complicity in the publication of misleading accounts by the Crédit Lyonnais bank a decade ago.

Mr Trichet, head of the Treasury department of the finance ministry at the time, has denied the charges.

However, the lengthy legal process and the wait for a verdict has cast a cloud over his prospects of taking over from Mr Duisenberg. Even if he were cleared, officials said, formal procedures would prevent Mr Trichet taking up the post in early July.

"I wish to confirm my willingness, as already stated, to remain in office as president of European Central Bank beyond the date of July 9th and until a duly appointed new president is in a position to take up office," Mr Duisenberg's letter said. - (Reuters, AFP)