The FCC took the position that it was bound by the judgments of the CJEU as long as the latter applied certain methods of interpretation and its judgments are not objectively arbitrary. In the case at hand, the FCC found that the CJEU manifestly failed to take into account the meaning and scope of the proportionality principle. Ultimately, the FCC independently assessed the ECB’s decisions in the light of primary EU law, while adjudicating on the consequences of finding them to be defective for the German authorities.