A ruling by German judges that frays the ties that bind the European Union

The ruling by the German constitutional court on the European Central Bank’s bond-buying programme might not have shocked the financial markets but, says Ben Chu, it nevertheless casts an ominous shadow over the future of the eurozone and possibly even the EU

The decision muddies the waters regarding quantitative easing (EPA)

The latest ruling by the red-robed judges of the Bundesverfassungsgericht, Germany’s constitutional court in Karlsruhe, does not, on the face of it, seem like the most significant economic story of this coronavirus pandemic.

Not even close.

The ruling concerns a five-year-old sovereign bond-purchasing programme by the European Central Bank (ECB) that’s long past its peak in activity.