Publication

This commentary addresses a declaration by the Advocate General of the EU’s Court of Justice on the legality of the European Central Bank's (ECB) Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) program. The Advocate General stated that the program, which enables the bank to buy unlimited amounts of government bonds in the secondary markets, might be legal. However, the author makes it clear that this statement is not legally binding and that the Advocate General has also added conditions to the potential establishment and use of an OMT program that could cause serious problems for EU economic policymaking.