The former President of the Federal Constitutional Court believes the FCC will not be able to stop the ECB's bond purchasing programme (OMT). A decision on its legality should instead be made by the European Court of Justice.
Translated from the German
As reported by the German weekly Stern, the former president of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), Hans-Jürgen Papier, gave an interview for the print version of Friday's Handelsblatt, stating that he did not deem the FCC in a position to stop the ECB's bond buying programme of Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT).
"The ECB cannot be tried by a national court for any act or omission", he said. The court could theoretically decide "that this action by the ECB is incompatible with the German Basic Law", but this would have no immediate legal effect, but "would have a more symbolic significance".
Instead, he advocates that Karlsruhe should delegate the decision to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on whether the ECB had violated its mandate with the announced government bond purchases. "From my perspective, this is not a simple question of yes or no", so Papier.
According to him, however, the risks taken by the federal government for the rescue of the single currency could be in conflict with the debt brake in the constitution. The Basic Law makes clear requirements for borrowing, but sets no explicit limits on guarantees. "Perhaps the question will eventually be whether the debt ceiling also should automatically mean a limitation of guarantees given", because the debt ceiling will apply when and if the warranties were due, so Papier.
Full article (in German)
© stern.de
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