18 May 2020
Germany’s Failing Court
The German Federal Constitutional Court’s PSPP judgment depends on three intricate principles that the Court says are implicit in the German constitution, to such an extent that they are ‘unamendable’ under the ‘eternity’ clause of Article 79. These principles, however, are unique to Germany and unfamiliar in other European jurisdictions. Thereby the German Court has taken a ultimately illegitimate turn towards a narrow and inward interpretation of its constitution, which inexplicably neglects its European dimension. Given the potential effects of Germany’s apparent defiance of EU law and in light of the current ongoing discussions about the desired increased burden-sharing among the winners and losers of the Eurozone, the internal constitutional argument in Germany is a matter of great significance for the future of the Eurozone. Continue reading >>
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18 May 2020
When Managed Recognition Turns into Outright Denial
Kalypso Nicolaïdis has referred to managed recognition as an exercise in legal empathy mediated through conditions and limits, and resulting from the ‘eternal dance of law and politics’. The notion lends a useful lens to capture the relation between European top courts. In the version of that relation emerging from the PSPP judgment, this lens magnifies a disruption, a side effect, and an alternative course. Continue reading >>17 May 2020
Ein Vertragsverletzungsverfahren als Deeskalationsinstrument?
Könnte ein Vertragsverletzungsverfahren in dem Ultra-Vires-Fall eine weitere Stufe des Kooperationsverhältnisses von EuGH und BVerfG sein? Es könnte den prozessualen Mantel bilden, um den Dialog um den Inhalt der nationalen Verfassungsidentität der Bundesrepublik fortzuführen. Continue reading >>
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15 May 2020
The liberal elite send their regards
On skewed pictures, failed PR campaigns and the ongoing fallout of last week's ultra vires judgment of the Bundesverfassungsgericht. Continue reading >>
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15 May 2020
Schönen Gruß von der liberalen Elite
Über schiefe Bilder, schief gegangene PR-Kampagnen und den fortdauernden Fallout des Ultra-Vires-Urteils des Bundesverfassungsgerichts. Continue reading >>15 May 2020
At the End of the Law
The recent judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court needs to be regarded from the perspective of political economy as it highlights that the status quo of the Eurozone is untenable. The merits of the Weiss judgment could be to open up a debate about the requirements of a genuine European Economic and Monetary Union in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. Continue reading >>13 May 2020
Suing the BVerfG
It is the argument of this blog post that the Commission must activate the procedure of Article 258 TFEU and sue (Germany for the grave breach of EU law by) the BVerfG. As I maintain, this action is constitutionally necessary, legally sound, and it may ultimately help achieve an important integration function – neutralizing the minefield that the BVerfG built around the future of Europe. Continue reading >>13 May 2020
Corona Constitutional #24: Ultra Vires, Runde 3
Ist im kalten Krieg zwischen Luxemburg und Karlsruhe die Atombombe gefallen? Und kann es sein, dass sie ihr Ziel verfehlt hat? Während Karlsruhe den Ultra-Vires-Backlash mit einer PR-Offensive in den großen deutschen Zeitungen einzudämmen versucht, ändert sich an den grundlegenden Problemen nichts. Diese, so ANUSHEH FARAHAT im Gespräch mit Max Steinbeis, liegen nämlich viel tiefer: In transnationalen Solidaritätskonflikten, unklaren Kompetenzordnungen und fehlendem politischen Willen, die europäischen Probleme wirklich anzugehen. Continue reading >>09 May 2020
Is the BVerfG PSPP decision “simply not comprehensible”?
Upon reading the BVerfG’s bombshell PSPP decision, one cannot but be struck at how little it thinks of the quality of the legal reasoning of the CJEU with regards to the proportionality test. If one is to judge others so harshly, it is wise to make sure that one’s own position is irreproachable. The BVerfG failed to do so. Continue reading >>08 May 2020
We Super-Europeans
Judges at war? Judges at dance? Or is it just a tragedy? On the FCC ultra vires decision, its fallout and other topics of this eventful week. Continue reading >>
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