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For the first time, the Federal Constitutional Court opposed the European Court of Justice, which caused an earthquake in Brussels. The head of the German commission is in a dilemma.
After Karlsruhe’s controversial ruling on the European Central Bank, the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is investigating infringement proceedings against Germany. This arises from a letter from Leyens to the European green politician Sven Giegold, which is available to the German Press Agency. “I take this very seriously,” said Saturday’s letter.
The Federal Constitutional Court on Tuesday criticized purchases of government bonds worth $ 1 billion from the ECB, thus opposing a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Communities for the first time. Unlike the ECJ, the Karlsruhe judges decided that the central bank had exceeded its mandate. They called the ruling of the ECJ “objectively arbitrary” and “methodologically no longer justifiable.”
“The ruling of the Constitutional Court raises questions”
Therefore, Giegold had asked the EU Commission to initiate an infringement procedure. Von der Leyen, in his response to the MEP, confirmed that the German ruling is currently being analyzed in detail, but has already added: “On the basis of these findings, we are examining possible next steps, including infringement procedures.”
The Constitutional Court ruling raised questions that touched the core of European sovereignty, the letter said. The Union’s monetary policy is an exclusive competence. EU law takes precedence over national law and ECJ judgments are binding on all national courts.
“The last word on EU law always has the Court of Justice of the European Communities in Luxembourg,” wrote von der Leyen. The EU is a community of values and laws that the EU Commission will uphold and uphold at all times. Under EU law, this is the responsibility of the Brussels authority: it is the “guardian” of the EU treaties and must punish violations. If you initiate proceedings for breach of contract, this in turn may end before the ECJ.
Danger to the European legal community.
Giegold, a spokesman for the German Greens and chairman of the Greens on the European Parliament’s foreign exchange committee, said Saturday that he was not concerned by simple criticism of the Federal Constitutional Court. But the dispute between Karlsruhe and Luxembourg threatens the European legal community.
“The Federal Constitutional Court is forcing the Bundesbank, as well as the federal government and the Bundestag to enter into conflict with the ECB,” wrote the Greens politician. Therefore, all EU institutions must clearly support the Court of Justice of the European Union. “As guardian of the treaties, the Commission had to initiate proceedings.
With the ruling, the MEP sees the stability of the monetary union at risk. It also acts as an invitation to the courts of other countries to avoid the Court of Justice of the European Communities. Giegold is not alone in his scolding of judgment. The European SPD policy Katarina Barley spoke in the “Passauer Neue Presse” of a fatal sign. European lawyer Franz Mayer compared the sentence to an “atomic bomb”.
