Corte constitucional alemana puede afectar crisis del euro

Genevieve Signoret & Patrick Signoret

El día 11 de junio la corte constitucional alemana comenzó a escuchar testimonios sobre los programas de compras de bonos y de provisión de liquidez del BCE y sobre la constitucionalidad del MEDE. La corte no anunciará una decisión inmediatamente, pero los argumentos que escucha nos ayudarán a saber si Alemania tolerará más estímulo del BCE y mayor integración en la zona del euro. Más contexto de Open Europe:

Summary: The ‘Bundesverfassungsgericht’ – the German Constitutional Court (GCC) – will hold a hearing on the 11 and 12 June focusing on whether the ECB’s policies have infringed the ECB’s or Bundesbank’s mandate and if any of them have created fiscal risks without democratic approval. In the end, the Court seems unlikely to uphold such claims. However, it could set out red lines and restrictions to protect the German Constitution – this could throw a new element of risk into the crisis.

Background

Last summer, the GCC held similar hearings over the ESM, the eurozone’s bailout fund. In that case, the GCC ruled that the ESM is not in breach of the German constitution. However, it did also lay down some requirements which reaffirmed the role of the Bundestag in any ESM decision, which could potentially put limits on future actions such as a cap on German contributions, an ESM banking licence and/or Eurobonds.

Such GCC rulings have become closely watched events in the eurozone crisis, not least because an awkward ruling could create new constraints and risk in the crisis. This case will be no different.