A compromise was agreed upon (although publicly denied by all parties) whereby Duisenberg would serve for at least four years, upon which the Frenchman Jean-Claude Trichet, director of the Banque de France, would take over.
Et kompromis blev strikket sammen (selvom alle parter officielt benægtede det) om, at Duisenberg kun ville sidde i 4 år, hvorefter Jean-Claude Trichet, direktør i den franske nationalbank, skulle tage over.