Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-10-23-Speech-1-194"
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"en.20061023.22.1-194"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, almost 12 months ago we first gave our approval to the European payment order, a new law to assist in simplified debt recovery for businesses and citizens owed money in another EU Member State. Today, a year later, the committee’s view has not changed. We believe that we need this pragmatic and practical EU law, in particular to ensure that businesses and citizens have an affordable system to recover those debts owed to them. Why? Because until this law comes into force, recovery of debts from another EU State is a costly legal process. In some cases, money spent on lawyers and administrative costs exceeds the amount owed to the individual. More significantly, studies and experience show that companies which do not get their debts paid are at risk of collapsing, with knock-on effects not just in terms of job losses, but also for other SMEs in the supply chain.
Finally, since we started this process a year ago and since the Commission’s original proposal, we now have a new institutional agreement, with effect from July 2006. The committee and Parliament insist that the new regulatory scrutiny procedure and rule should be respected in this legislation and on the payment order.
Commissioner, let me say how much we have appreciated the cooperation of your departments in this area. I hope that, together with the Finnish Presidency, we can sign off the European payment order and begin the process of putting it into law across all the Member States of the EU, so that businesses and citizens can be confident of operating in the internal market in the knowledge that the failure to pay a debt does not end up in endless court proceedings with no outcome. Thanks to the European Union, there is now a simple and user-friendly system for speedy payment of debts which, I believe, will drive forward the internal market for SMEs and boost the EU economy.
Out of between 30 and 40 billion invoices in Europe each year, as many as 1 billion default and turn into debt cases. Interim Justicia carried out a survey on payment practices in 16 European countries some 10 years ago. The average delay then was just 14 days. By the end of 2003, however, this had not declined, but risen to 16 days. According to a World Bank study, ‘Doing Business in 2004: Understanding Regulation’, the Nordic countries have the most efficient and effective legal systems of the countries surveyed. They take the least time to reach a solution while keeping costs low. Italy is one of the countries with the longest delays worldwide. The explanation it is said lies in the lax appeal process, which allows proceedings to be disrupted at any point during a trial. Spain, by contrast, has one of the most complex legal systems, which generates higher costs and leads to longer court proceedings. My own Member State, the UK, has some three systems operating for payments, again creating confusion for businesses or the public.
Extensive differences in legal regulation of overdue payment recovery therefore lead to uncertainties, especially in EU trade, and the additional costs prevent the EU’s aim of equal opportunities for market access for both local and EU operating companies. It is clear that a lack of enforcement systems for payments undermines the internal market and business confidence and that, as a result, SMEs have continued to experience cash flow problems caused by late payments.
The European payment order will also apply to individual citizens who work or live in another Member State and who can also take advantage of this new law. Of course, the high and expanding volume of trade within the EU and the increased movement of people raise the likelihood that more and more businesses may become involved in cross-border litigation. There is a risk that citizens may not be inclined to assert their rights because of the obstacles they face, particularly in dealing with the legal system in another Member State and with unfamiliar procedures and unknown costs. It is essential, therefore, that the EU provide for a judicial area where private individuals and businesses can have access to justice and redress in the case of an uncontested claim.
This procedural law will help facilitate that access. The payment order introduces a practical EU-level instrument for obtaining an enforceable decision and I believe in this way we can demonstrate to citizens that the EU is delivering a practical tool to assist them with redress and remedies.
I want to put on record my thanks to members of the committee, in particular the shadows, Mr Wieland, who is here this evening, and Mrs Wallis, who cannot be here. They have not only supported my approach but have made useful and constructive proposals for amendments at every stage of the procedure. The committee consulted with key protagonists and we believe we focused on the core issues. Both my shadows were concerned to ensure that the forms and the annex, the bones of the proposal, were simple enough for businesses to be able to fill them out with minimum bureaucracy. Only time and experience will tell if this has been achieved. That is why, under the new comitology procedures, Parliament needs to be consulted and informed of any changes the Commission would like to make to the system.
I would also like to thank the British Presidency, in particular the Minister Baroness Ashton, who was instrumental in helping us to make progress on the clear drafting of this law.
So now, Commissioner, at second reading we are down to the last few details. Mrs Wallis is concerned that the Commission should seriously address the potential discrimination affecting citizens and businesses where EEA members can participate in the single market, but cannot be a party to the EPO. I hope the Commission will address this issue.
The forms should be user-friendly and simple and we would therefore like the Commission to take on board our amendment in this area."@en1
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