The EU’s Court of Justice has insisted that it alone has the jurisdiction to decide whether another EU institution has acted contrary to EU law.

The strongly-worded statement, issued on Friday, was sparked by a ruling delivered by the German Constitutional Court last week.

'Jeopardy'

“Divergences between courts of the member states as to the validity of such acts would indeed be liable to place in jeopardy the unity of the EU legal order and to detract from legal certainty,” the EU court said, adding that national courts were required to ensure that EU law takes full effect.

The German court ruled last week that part of the European Central Bank’s massive bond-buying programme, aimed at boosting the euro zone economy, went beyond its mandate.

Bundesbank

The CJEU itself had ruled in December 2018 that the ECB did have the authority to implement the programme, known as the Public Sector Purchase Program (PSPP).

The German ruling would prevent Germany’s central bank, the Bundesbank, from taking part in the PSPP if the ECB could not show within three months that the programme was a valid part of its mandate.