In its judgment pronounced on 5 May, the Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court granted several constitutional complaints directed against the Public Sector Purchase Programme (PSPP) of the European Central Bank (ECB). The Court found that the Federal Government and the German Bundestag violated the complainants’ rights under Art. 38(1) first sentence in conjunction with Art. 20(1) and (2), and Art. 79(3) of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz – GG) by failing to take steps challenging that the ECB, in its decisions on the adoption and implementation of the PSPP, neither assessed nor substantiated that the measures provided for in these decisions satisfy the principle of proportionality.
This seminar considered how the decision fits with the other major European Monetary Union decisions and ongoing questions concerning the role of the European Central Bank; the broader economic implications of the German Federal Constitutional Court’s decision for the ECB’s independence and for the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme; as well as constitutional questions such as supremacy of EU law and the role of judicial dialogue in the EU constitutional order.
Chaired by Professor Catherine Barnard, the Faculty's Dr Alicia Hinarejos and Dr Markus Gehring, and Professor Michael Waibel of the University of Vienna, discussed the issues before addressing questions from the audience.
Recordings of the event are available at the Unviversity Streaming Service in either video or audio-only, and on YouTube.
This successful event attracted hundreds of attendees from around the globe. CELS will hope to continue this move to making it's research seminars available online during the pandemic.