Editing European Central Bank (section)

==== Asset Purchase programme (APP) ====
On 22 January 2015, the ECB announced an extension of those programmes within a full-fledge "[[quantitative easing]]" programme which also included sovereign bonds, to the tune of 60 billion euros per month up until at least September 2016. The programme was started on 9 March 2015.<ref>{{cite news|date=27 April 2017|title=Draghi fends off German critics and keeps stimulus untouched|newspaper=Financial Times|url=https://www.ft.com/content/efece562-2b30-11e7-bc4b-5528796fe35c |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/efece562-2b30-11e7-bc4b-5528796fe35c |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 8 June 2016, the ECB added corporate bonds to its asset purchases portfolio with the launch of the corporate sector purchase programme (CSPP).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ecb.europa.eu/ecb/legal/pdf/celex_32016d0016_en_txt.pdf?0240957ff3a5d0b909a9482628799777|title=DECISION (EU) 2016/948 OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK of 1 June 2016 on the implementation of the corporate sector purchase programme (ECB/2016/16)|access-date=29 January 2020|archive-date=17 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517052517/https://www.ecb.europa.eu/ecb/legal/pdf/celex_32016d0016_en_txt.pdf?0240957ff3a5d0b909a9482628799777|url-status=dead}}</ref> Under this programme, it conducted the net purchase of corporate bonds until January 2019 to reach about €177 billion. While the programme was halted for 11 months in January  2019, the ECB restarted net purchases in November 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ecb.europa.eu/mopo/implement/omt/html/index.en.html#cspp|title=Corporate sector purchase programme (CSPP) – Questions & Answers|website=European Central Bank|date=7 December 2021}}</ref>

On May 5, 2020, the Court ordered the [[Bundestag]] and the [[Cabinet of Germany|Bundesregierung]] to ensure the ECB had carried out a proportionality assessment of the vast purchases of government debt in the [[Public Sector Purchase Programme]] (PSPP) to ensure the economic and fiscal policy effects do not outweigh its policy objectives.<ref name="Camous-2020b" /><ref name="Bundesverfassungsgericht-2023">{{Cite web |title=ECB decisions on the Public Sector Purchase Programme exceed EU competences |url=https://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/EN/2020/bvg20-032.html |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Arnold |first1=Martin |last2=Stubbington |first2=Tommy |date=2020-05-05 |title=German court calls on ECB to justify bond-buying programme |url=https://www.ft.com/content/a1beda5e-5c2d-429e-a095-27728ed2d72b |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=Financial Times}}</ref><ref name="Arnold-2020c">{{Cite web |last1=Arnold |first1=Martin |last2=Hall |first2=Ben |date=2020-05-06 |title=German court ruling casts doubt on European monetary policy |url=https://www.ft.com/content/07f19a1b-7494-439d-9765-7fd7ddf09860 |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=Financial Times}}</ref> The PSPP-implementing decision has been considered an act [[ultra vires]] by the ECB as it was too arbitrary and lacks reasoning in ints proportionality assessment.<ref name="Bundesverfassungsgericht-2023" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-05-05 |title=German Constitutional Court rules the Court of Justice's Weiss judgment ultra vires due to poor reasoning and weak standard of review |url=https://eulawlive.com/german-constitutional-court-rules-the-court-of-justices-weiss-judgment-ultra-vires-due-to-poor-reasoning-and-weak-standard-of-review/ |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=EU Law Live |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smits |first=René |date=2021-04-14 |title=The European Central Bank's Pandemic Bazooka: Mandate Fulfilment in Extraordinary Times |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3824740 |journal=EU Law Live |pages=19 |ssrn=3824740}}</ref> This ruling by the German Constitutional Court comes at a difficult time for the ECB as it was at the time considering expanding the PEPP. The ruling also reflects the mistrust within some parts of Germany in the ECB, which is seen there as an institution that bails out profligate Southern European countries.<ref name="Arnold-2020c" /> Moreover, this ruling also highlights the vital problem on the euro area architecture, as the range of instruments can use to fulfil its mandate remains unclear.<ref name="Camous-2020b" />

{{As of|2021|post=,}} the size of the ECB's quantitative easing programme had reached 2947 billion euros.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-03-25 |title=Asset purchase programmes |url=https://www.ecb.europa.eu/mopo/implement/app/html/index.en.html |access-date=2021-04-03 |website=European Central Bank |language=en}}</ref>