Euro zone finance ministers start steps to replace ECB's Schnabel

BRUSSELS, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers on Thursday started a process to replace European Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel, who will leave the ECB on January 3 to take up a post at the International Monetary Fund.

The chairman of euro zone finance ministers Kyriakos Pierrakakis asked the bloc's 21 countries to submit candidates for Schnabel's job by October 28.

The Eurogroup will then decide at its next meeting which candidate to recommend to EU leaders for appointment, most likely at their summit in December.

News of Schnabel's departure has set in motion what is likely to be a complicated game of political chess for coveted roles.

ECB ​chief economist Philip Lane is also set to leave next May and ECB President Christine Lagarde, herself a subject of persistent ​resignation rumours, will depart by next October at the latest.

That suggests that Schnabel's replacement will be part of a broader political deal, rather than a singular appointment, as Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and France are all vying for powerful board seats.

While technically any country can contest Schnabel's seat, the bloc's top three — Germany, France and Italy — have a de facto permanent seat on the board, and her replacement is likely to come from one of those countries.

(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski and Inti Landauro; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Jan Harvey)