ECB’s Covid Rescue Program Attacked in Suit at Top German Court

  • Group of 16 academics, business people file new PEPP complaint
  • Germany’s opposition AfD party lodged first case last year

The ECB unveiled its emergency purchase program nearly a year ago to help the euro-area economy weather the shock from the Covid-19 crisis.

Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg
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The European Central Bank’s emergency response to the coronavirus pandemic faces another challenge at Germany’s top court, this time from a group of 16 business people and academics.

The ECB’s Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program is a “blatant case of government financing,” said Markus Kerber, a Berlin finance professor, who is leading the group in the legal attack. The lawsuit targets the government and parliament over their alleged failure to oppose the program, known as PEPP.