Foreign holdings of German government bonds have fallen to their lowest since before the financial crisis in 2008, data suggests, a potential headache for the European Central Bank which buys the bulk of assets for its stimulus scheme from among the debt. Source Reuters
The European Commission is preparing a case to assert the primacy of EU courts over rulings from Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court. The issue relates to the buying of government bonds by the European Central Bank. Brussels is expected to launch an infringement procedure against Germany after a ruling by the country’s Federal Constitutional Court that is seen as incompatible with European Union law. Source Deutsche Welle
Europe has been “forged in the crises” and therefore must emerge strengthened from the pandemic, for example, by making permanent mechanisms such as the EU Recovery Fund or the Sure Fund, said Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco on Monday.
Visco also said the EU mechanisms are “common debt, well distinct” from the “previous debt of the single countries, which would remain national responsibility”, even if a part of this could enter into common management, “for example through an amortisation fund”. Source Euractiv
Testing work on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany will start next week, Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad region where the pipeline starts, was cited as saying by the TASS news agency on Wednesday. Source Reuters
