06 May 2020

POLITICO: France criticizes German court ruling on European Central Bank

The European Central Bank (ECB) alone can judge what monetary policy is needed for the eurozone, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in response to a German court ruling questioning the legality of the institution’s bond-buying programs.

"The decision of the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe is not an element of stability," Le Maire said in a written statement sent to the press.

"It is important to recall the independence of the ECB, which is the only one able to judge what is necessary when it comes to monetary policy in the eurozone," he added.

Germany's top court on Tuesday dismissed a 2018 decision from the Court of Justice of the European Union allowing one of the European Central Bank’s bond purchasing programs. The German court ordered the ECB to provide Germany with adequate justification for the program within the next three months. Should it fail to do so, the Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, would no longer be permitted to participate in the program.

The decision is seen by many as a threat to both the independence of the ECB and the authority of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

"The European treaties guarantee the independence of the European Central Bank," Le Maire said. "It takes its decisions in total independence and decides on the conditions for the exercise of its mandate under the exclusive supervision of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which is the guardian of the treaties."

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