Germany’s Legal Bogeyman Is Hampering Europe’s Response to Putin
- Russian aggression is revitalizing calls for EU shared debt
- Experts are skeptical German judges would allow the bonds
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European nations pushing for joint borrowing to fund shared projects have long been stymied by German opposition.
But the German government has its own bogeyman in the form of the Federal Constitutional Court. Leaning on the judges’ aversion to new liabilities has become a habit, with German leaders citing it both in public and private to slap down their neighbors’ enthusiasm for tackling shared problems together.