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"That’s why I think it’s beyond the mandate [of the ECB],” Ferber told EurActiv in an interview.
Ferber’s intervention is significant because he is Vice-Chair of the Committee for Economic and Monetary Affairs in Parliament, and his criticisms go further than other German political interventions.
The bond-buying plan is meant to boost the eurozone’s economy by motivating banks to shed their bonds and issue more credit for the economy.
But experts in Germany have warned of falling prices and ebbing investment, while the government attempts to distance itself from the upcoming ECB decision.
Ferber agreed with the analysis of German Finance Minister Schäuble, who has made it clear that he does not see a threat of deflation in Germany and Europe.
In December, living costs in the eurozone decreased for the first time in more than five years, by 0.2%. Many analysts are concerned that falling prices and dwindling investments could result. But in Germany, consumption is strong, a condition Schäuble said works against deflation.