Judgment_paragraph 93 · QI and Others v European Commission and European Central Bank (T-868/16)

93Second, Article 123(1) TFEU does indeed lay down a clear, precise and unconditional prohibition on direct financial assistance of any kind (overdraft facilities or any other type of credit facility) provided by the ESCB to State bodies as well as on direct acquisitions, by the ESCB, of ‘debt instruments’ from Member States, without, however, generally excluding the possibility of the Eurosystem purchasing, from the creditors of such a State, bonds previously issued by that State and traded on the secondary market (see, to that effect, judgments of 27 November 2012, Pringle, C‑370/12, EU:C:2012:756, paragraph 132; of 16 June 2015, Gauweiler and Others, C‑62/14, EU:C:2015:400, paragraph 95; and of 11 December 2018, Weiss and Others, C‑493/17, EU:C:2018:1000, paragraphs 103 and 106). The same is true of Article 125(1) TFEU, under which, inter alia, the European Union is not to be liable for or assume the commitments of State bodies.