The European Union's General
Court on Wednesday ruled in favour of a British appeal against a
European Central Bank (ECB) decision on the location of euro
clearing houses.
The ruling said that the ECB did not have the legal
authority to dictate where clearing houses for the single
currency should be located.
"The ECB lacks the competence necessary to regulate the
activity of securities clearing systems as its competence is
limited to payment systems alone," the Luxembourg-based court
said.
The ruling was cheered by Britain, which is anxious to
uphold the strength and reach of its financial centre.
The ECB had argued that it was important to its oversight
of the euro currency this be conducted within the eurozone.
Britain, while a member of the European Union, retains its
own currency and is not a part of the eurozone nor uses the
euro.
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