ECB

11 Aug 2021

The Clash Between Brussels and Germany: The Battle for Legal Supremacy or Just a Procedural Quarrel?

The German Constitutional Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) have been at odds lately.  In June 2021, the European Commission brought infringement proceedings against Germany over an alleged breach of the principle of primacy of EU law by the German Federal Constitutional Court. Namely, the German Federal Constitutional Court has delivered a landmark decision that is precedent-setting and has tremendous repercussions for the question of the power dynamics between the European Union (“EU”) and a Member State.  Before getting into the nitty-gritty details of this legal conundrum, let us take a look at how things played […]

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03 Aug 2021

Cryptocurrencies, digital currencies – changes in financial systems, or a whole new world?

Cryptocurrencies, digital currencies, electronic money… are the talk of the world.  A common question these days is what cryptocurrencies are and how they work.  This question now has a more recent addition – what are digital currencies?  Is digital currency a synonym for cryptocurrency?  If not, what is the difference?  If you are a fintech enthusiast, you may think that this is a great time to be alive.  But if you are not, it is perfectly ok to be confused, even a bit scared by the changes happening this fast.  The only thing we can do is to keep up […]

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08 May 2020

The latest judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany – a serious blow to the decision-making of the courts in the European Union?

On May 5, 2020, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany  (“Constitutional Court”) delivered a judgment approving several constitutional complaints.  The complaints pertain to the Public Sector Purchase Program (“PSPP”) and allege that it violates the prohibition of monetary financing under Article 123 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (“TFEU”) and the principle of conferral provided for in Art. 5(1) of the Treaty on European Union (“TEU”). It is important to note that the European Court of Justice ruled on the matter on December 11, 2018, stating that the PSPP did not violate the funding ban. Two […]

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