Britain must back the EU in its fight with German judges

Germany’s highest court has plunged more than just the European Central Bank into crisis with its ruling on the legality of the ECB’s public sector purchase programme. The decision by the German constitutional court effectively means the Bundesbank won’t be able to participate in the ECB’s bond-buying programme, at least not unless either the law or the treaties are changed. This decision risks blowing up the EU’s entire legal setup. But the schadenfreude felt by some critics of the EU is nothing to celebrate. Instead, it’s vital that the UK sticks up for the EU in this messy dispute.

Until now the ECB has been independent of nation states and controlled by the EU (under EU law). The German position is that where the ECB acts on issues of monetary policy, the EU remains in charge. When however the issue is economic policy, Germany is; and if Germany thinks the ECB hasn’t acted in a way it thinks is right, then it won’t follow it.