European Union member states should agree on a strong candidate from Europe to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn as head of the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission said on Thursday.

As the biggest contributor to the IMF, it was natural that the 27 EU states should agree on a candidate, Commission spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen told journalists.

"We believe that we can find strong candidates from Europe to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn," she said. "...We believe it's only natural to work to field a strong European candidate, while at the same time, of course, it's competence and not nationality that decides who is the best man or woman for the job."

Strauss-Kahn resigned as head of the IMF, saying he needed to concentrate on fighting charges that he sexually assaulted a hotel maid in New York. His arrest at the weekend has sparked debate over the 65-year-old tradition that a European is appointed head of the Washington-based global lender.

The EU's top economic official, Olli Rehn, said knowledge of the European economy would be a useful qualification for any new IMF chief.

"It is essential that the managing director of the IMF will be chosen based on merit and competence," he told a business conference in Brussels. "It is a merit if the person to be chosen for this task has knowledge of the European economy."

Rehn, the EU's economic and monetary affairs commissioner, has been working closely with the IMF in dealing with the financial crisis in several euro zone states, with joint EU/IMF bailouts for Greece, Ireland, and Portugal.

The Commission spokeswoman said the right person to lead the IMF should be able to rally support from the IMF membership.

"I'm sure that now consultations will intensify about the succession and about putting forward a strong European candidate to take up the position," Ahrenkilde Hansen said, though she pointed out it was not for the Commission to play a formal role in this. – Reuters