SUERF Webinar Series: Central Banking and Finance Forum

The Karlsruhe ruling: implications and the way forward?

Jun 03, 2020 16:00 - 17:00 CET (UTC+01:00)

Date: Wednesday, 3 June 2020 − 16:00-17:00 CET

Speakers
Alberto De Gregorio Merino, Director, Council Legal Services, European Council
Helmut Siekmann, Distinguished Professorship, Goethe University, Frankfurt
Takis Tridimas, Professor of European Law and Director, Centre of European Law, King’s College, London

Moderator
Klaus Wiener, Managing Director and Chief Economist, German Insurance Association and SUERF

The ruling by the German Federal Constitutional Court (GFCC) on the ECB’s Public Sector Purchase Programme (PSPP) has triggered debates at various levels: Who rules whether EU institutions act within the powers transferred to them by EU member states’ legislators? Is such judgement the ultimate prerogative of the ECJ? How to prove that the Eurosystem’s PSPP is proportionate in relation to the mandate and needs of euro area monetary policy? Who needs to provide such proof? Is the Eurosystem’s - notably the Bundesbank’s - leeway in pursuing the PSPP - de iure or de facto - limited by the GFCC’s ruling? What are potential implications for the credibility of the ECB’s further policy scope?

Webinar Report (pdf)
"The Karlsruhe ruling: implications and the way forward?" by Eleonora Endlich, Rudolf Kaschnitz and Beatrix Pawelczak, Oesterreichische Nationalbank.

	Alberto de Gregorio Merino is Director, Legal Service of the Council of the European Union, dealing with Ecofin and EU budget related matters - including lately the Recovery plan and MFF negotiations. He is legal advisor to the Eurogroup, Economic Financial Committee, the Eurogroup Working Group, Coreper and Council. He has represented the European Council and the Council before the European Court of Justice in a large number of cases, including case Pringle, C-370/12. Frequent participation in conferences and academic activities: institutional rapporteur at the FIDE Congress (2016) and author of numerous publications (for instance, common market law review).
	Professor Siekmann’s main field of work is the stability of financial markets, financial institutions and public finances. His research is focused on all aspects of government finances, the institutional framework of the European System of Central Banks, the European provisions to secure stable government finances, the stabilization mechanisms in time of crisis, and the supervision and control of financial markets. In addition to his academic work, Professor Siekmann contributed to numerous legislative projects on the national and supranational level. He worked as counsel to constitutional bodies and represented them in constitutional courts.
	Takis Tridimas is the Chair of European Law at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London and Director of the Centre of European Law. He is also the Nancy A. Patterson Distinguished Faculty Scholar and Professor at Pennsylvania State University and a Barrister in Matrix Chambers. He interests include the constitutional law of the EU, judicial protection, banking and financial law, and comparative law. He is the author of numerous publications. He has appeared before the European Court of Justice, the General Court of the EU, the European Court of Human Rights, and the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. He was involved in the negotiations leading to the Withdrawal Agreement of the UK from the European Union and chaired the Committee responsible for drafting the Treaty of Accession of 2003 by which central and eastern European states joined the EU.
	Klaus Wiener, Ph.D., is Managing Director and Chief Economist of the German Insurance Association (GDV) in Berlin. As a member of the management board he is responsible for the economics, investments, and legal department. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the Uni-versity of Georgia, USA. Prior to joining the GDV, he worked for Assicurazioni Generali, a leading European insurer. At the group level, he was responsible for the tactical asset allocation of a € 400 bn portfolio, while also holding the position of Chief Economist in the Asset Management Division of the Group, Generali Investments Europe.Following his academic education he started his professional career in the banking sector, working in the economics department of Commerzbank in Frankfurt and Westdeutsche Landesbank in Düsseldorf, Germany.