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Finland's Katainen set to replace Rehn at EU till October

HELSINKI (Reuters) - The Finnish government proposed outgoing Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen on Wednesday to replace Olli Rehn as the EU's top economic official until the term of the current European Commission expires at the end of October.

Rehn, the European Union's Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, will stand down in July after winning a seat for Finland's Centre Party in the European Parliament in last month's pan-EU elections.

Under EU rules, each of the 28 member states has one commissioner working in the bloc's Brussels-based executive. Rehn, 52, has been Finland's commissioner for the past decade. Previously he oversaw the Commission's EU enlargement portfolio.

Katainen, 42, will step down as prime minister next Monday and has said he wants a senior EU job. He has been mentioned as a possible candidate to head the next European Commission, though he has repeatedly said he backs former Luxembourg prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker for that post.

Finland's EU minister Alexander Stubb will replace Katainen as prime minister after winning the leadership of their centre-right National Coalition party last weekend.



(Reporting By Jussi Rosendahl; Editing by Gareth Jones)