The Problem of Legality of the European Central Bank’s Anti-Crisis Decisions with the Provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union

Tomasz Knepka

Abstract


In recent years, the European Central Bank has conducted – in response to the financial crisis – monetary policy with the aid of some non-standard instruments. In connection with the anti-crisis operation of the EU’s Central Bank there appeared some voices speaking out against it in Europe. As a consequence of the ECB's commitment to the fight against the financial crisis, a group of German politicians appealed to the Federal Constitutional Court to examine the compliance of the German stabilization laws with the constitution. During the proceedings, the FCC put the preliminary questions in terms of the compliance of the ECB's actions with the Treaty.


Keywords


monetary policy; European Central Bank; financial crisis; Outright Monetary Transactions; European Union Law

Full Text:

PDF (Język Polski)

References


Advocate General’s Opinion in Case C-62/14 Peter Gauweiler and Others Deutscher Bundestag, Court of Justice of the European Union, Press release No 2/15, Luxembourg, 14 January 2015.

Altavilla C., Giannone D., Lenza M., The Financial and Macroeconomic Effects of OMT Announcements, European Central Bank, Working Paper Series, No. 1707, August 2014.

An Unintended Side-Effect of Draghi’s Bazooka: An Opportunity to Establish a More Balanced Relationship between the ECJ and Member States’ Highest Courts, “Common Market Law Review” 2014, Vol. 51, Issue 2.

Bainczyk M., Wyrok niemieckiego Federalnego Trybunału Konstytucyjnego z 18.03.2014 r. w sprawie zgodności aktów prawnych, związanych ze stabilizacją strefy euro, z Ustawą Zasadniczą RFN, „Europejski Przegląd Sądowy” 2014, lipiec.

Belke A., A More Effective Euro Area Monetary Policy than OMTs – Gold-Backed Sovereign Debt, Directorate General for Internal Policies, Policy Department a: Economic and Scientific Policy, European Parliament, September 2012.

Biernat S., Pytanie prejudycjalne Niemieckiego Trybunału Konstytucyjnego, „Europejski Przegląd Sądowy” 2014, marzec.

Decision of the European Central Bank of 2 July 2009 on the implementation of the covered bond purchase programme (ECB/2009/16), Official Journal of the European Union, L 175/18.

Decision of the European Central Bank of 14 May 2010 establishing a securities markets programme, (ECB/2010/5), Official Journal of the European Union, L 124/8.

Grabowski W., Stawasz E.,2Programy skupu aktywów Europejskiego Banku Centralnego w dobie kryzysu zadłużeniowego w strefie euro, „Ekonomia Międzynarodowa” 2013, nr 4.

Helm L., The ECB’s Securities Markets Programme. An Analysis of Economics, Law and Central Bank Independence, College of Europe Natolin Campus, Natolin 02, 2012.

Hristov N., Hülsewig O., Siemsen T., Wollmershäuser T., Smells Like Fiscal Policy? Assessing the Potential Effectiveness of the ECB’s OMT Program, Cesifo Working Paper No. 4628, Category 7: Monetary Policy and International Finance, February 2014.

http://curia.europa.eu [data dostępu: 10.12.2015].

Murswiek D., ECB, ECJ, Democracy, and the Federal Constitutional Court: Notes on the Federal Constitutional Court’s Referral Order from 14 January 2014, “German Law Journal” 2014, Vol. 15, No. 02.

Nowak-Far A., Unia Gospodarcza i Walutowa w Europie, Warszawa 2001.

Panfil P., Nabywanie skarbowych papierów wartościowych przez NBP, „Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Sklodowska. Sectio H” 2014, Vol. XLVIII, z. 4.

Pawłowski S., Europejski Bank Centralny w obliczu kryzysu zadłużenia, Zeszyty Natolińskie 61, Centrum Europejskie Natolin, Warszawa 2014.

Press release, Technical Features of Outright Monetary Transactions, 6 September 2012.

Steinbach A., The Legality of European Central Bank’s Sovereign Bond Purchases, “Yale Journal of International Law” 2013, Vol. 39, No. 2.

Traktat o funkcjonowaniu Unii Europejskiej (Dz. U. UEC 115/47, 9 maj 2008 r.).

Wilkinson M., From Karlsruhe, with Love? Questioning the Constitutionality of Unconventional Monetary Policy, “LSE Law Policy Briefing Series” 2014, No. 6.

Wniosek o wydanie orzeczenia w trybie prejudycjalnym złożony przez Bundesverfassungsgericht (Niemcy) w dniu 10 lutego 2014 r. – Peter Gauweila i in. (Sprawa C-62/14), Dz. Urz. UE, C-129/11.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/h.2015.49.4.237
Date of publication: 2016-01-28 11:03:33
Date of submission: 2015-06-02 08:29:55


Statistics


Total abstract view - 1077
Downloads (from 2020-06-17) - PDF (Język Polski) - 0

Indicators



Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2016 Tomasz Knepka

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.