ANFA: Euro Money Creation by the Member States

Membership in the European Monetary Union (EMU) is characterized by an automaticity. In this way, the member states whose currency is the euro transfer their currency sovereignty to the European Union (EU). For the EMU, there is a central monetary and currency policy competence in the form of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), which is responsible for the single monetary policy by the decision-making body of the European Central Bank (ECB). ELA credit, ANFA and TARGET2 balances, however, allow national central banks (NCBs) to issue national additional money, which serves, inter alia, the monetary (interim) financing of crisis countries and/or the support of insolvent banks. In addition, it finances capital flight and provides subsidized credit access for imports. Since 2015, the ECB’s bond purchase programmes have been added. Based on selected crisis situations, it is shown that the ECB Council has not fulfilled its control function and has sometimes knowingly violated the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the ECB Statute and internal guidelines.