The principle of proportionality as a limitation to unconventional monetary policy

比例原则对非常规货币政策的限制

• 批准号: 371535082
• 负责人: Professor Dr. Christoph Ohler
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Lehrstuhl für ÖR, Europarecht, Völkerrecht und Internationales Wirtschaftsrecht
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 德国
• 起止时间: 2016-12-31 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/371535082?language=en
• 关键词: principle; proportionality; limitation; unconventional; monetary

The project deals with the principle of proportionality as a constitutional limitation to the existing unconventional monetary policy of the ECB. The term unconventional monetary policy refers to measures taken during a financial crisis in order to combat its immediate adverse effects, and, in a wider sense, to all measures considered necessary after a crisis to bring the economy back to a growth path and restore normal conditions for price stability. In the euro-area, since 2008 interest rates were reduced to zero, and, in parallel, the size of existing programs was considerably extended. In addition, a massive form of quantitative easing took place under asset purchase programs whereby central banks acquire securities issued by private and sovereign issuers. These measures aimed, as it was the case in the widely known OMT program of September 2012, at reducing the immediate risks for the stability of the euro-area. After the end of the crisis, the ECB maintained its unconventional monetary policy to overcome the long-term effects of the crisis and promote a return to normal economic conditions in terms of growth and inflation rates. Yet, this policy involves adverse economic side effects, in particular by risks for the stability of the financial system as yields of institutional investors drop. Institutional investors affected so far are not only banks and insurance companies but also occupational and personal pension schemes.The project will analyze whether and to what extent the principle of proportionality sets limits to these forms of unconventional monetary policy. The relevance of this principle for monetary policy was for the first time confirmed by the CJEU in the Gauweiler case. The decision establishes legal criteria the application of which can be also helpful in the context of measures other than under the OMT program. They lead to an obligation of the ECB to fully monitor, assess and balance the various effects of its measures and, on this basis, state the reasons of its decisions. The purpose of these obligations is to come to an adequate balance of legal objectives and real effects of monetary policy. In this context, it is still unclear which economic effects can be attributed to the monetary policy measures of the ECB, and which cannot. The question of attribution is legally relevant as only effects that are attributable to the ECB can be subject to the obligations described above. Therefore, the project aims not only at developing a better understanding of the concept of monetary stability but also of legal criteria for the attribution of economic effects to monetary policy measures.

该项目将比例原则作为对欧洲央行现有非常规货币政策的宪法限制。非常规货币政策一词是指在金融危机期间采取的措施，以对抗其直接的不利影响，从更广泛的意义上说，是指在危机后为使经济回到增长轨道并恢复正常物价稳定条件而采取的所有必要措施。在欧元区，自2008年以来利率降至零，与此同时，现有计划的规模也大幅扩大。此外，在资产购买计划下出现了大规模的量化宽松，即央行购买私人和主权发行人发行的证券。正如众所周知的2012年9月OMT计划一样，这些措施旨在降低欧元区稳定面临的直接风险。危机结束后，欧洲央行维持其非常规货币政策，以克服危机的长期影响，并促进经济增长和通货膨胀率回归正常的经济状况。然而，这一政策涉及不利的经济副作用，特别是随着机构投资者收益率下降，金融体系的稳定性面临风险。到目前为止，受影响的机构投资者不仅包括银行和保险公司，还包括职业和个人养老金计划。该项目将分析比例原则是否以及在多大程度上限制了这些形式的非常规货币政策。欧洲高等法院在高韦勒案中首次证实了这一原则与货币政策的相关性。该决定确立了法律标准，适用于OMT计划以外的其他措施也会有所帮助。它们导致欧洲央行有义务全面监测、评估和平衡其措施的各种影响，并在此基础上说明其决定的原因。这些义务的目的是在法律目标和货币政策的实际效果之间取得适当的平衡。在这种背景下，目前尚不清楚哪些经济影响可以归因于欧洲央行的货币政策措施，哪些不能。归属问题在法律上是相关的，因为只有归属于欧洲央行的影响才能受到上述义务的约束。因此，该项目的目的不仅在于更好地理解货币稳定的概念，而且在于制定将经济影响归因于货币政策措施的法律标准。