The primacy of EU law over national law: EU law sets aside national law

The question of whether and under what conditions EU law prevails over national law does not yet seem to have found a clear answer. The far-reaching ruling of the German Federal Constitutional Court on the legal figure of the “ultra vires doctrine” which was issued in the wake of the decision of the European Central Bank on the so-called Public Sector Asset Purchase Program, has given a new dimension on the primacy of Union law and thus justifies its examination under these new circumstances. One reason for the widespread legal uncertainty surrounding the issue of primacy could be the absence of an explicit provision on the matter in both the Treaty on the European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Attempts have been made though to enshrine the primacy of EU law in primary law.