The PSPP Judgment of the German Federal Constitutional Court: Throwing Sand in the Wheels of the European Central Bank

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2020 5(1), 671-685 | European Forum Insight of 26 June 2020 | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. The Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP). - III. A message from Karlsruhe: is the PEPP on the verge of monetary financing? - IV. Conclusions. | (Abstract) After describing the measures adopted by the European Central Bank (ECB) to mitigate the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the euro area, the Insight focusses on the repercussions of the controversial judgment adopted by the German Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) on 5 May 2020. It is contended that the criteria adopted by the BVerfG to assess the consistency of the Public Sector Purchase Programme with the monetary financing prohibition might lead to a future finding that the PEPP programme indeed circumvents the prohibition. While the BVerfG judgment is putting sand in the wheels of the ECB and is exposing the limits of the current legal framework, it might also prompt a leap forward in the European integration process.