Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-03-08-Speech-1-174"
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"en.20100308.18.1-174"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to see you again and I would like to start by expressing my agreement with what Mrs Bowles just said, namely that consumers need security. That echoes an ambition that I stated during my hearing before this House for consumers to reclaim the domestic market through specific projects. One of these is the single euro payments area (SEPA). It is a complicated project but its aim – that of simple financial transfers within Europe – justifies our action.
The fourth point relates to the future of governance. As you know, the SEPA does not benefit from a pan-European system of governance. That is why there has been a joint initiative with the European Central Bank to create a SEPA council that brings together a limited number of high-level representatives of the payments industry and users. The objective is not to make decisions but to facilitate dialogue to ensure the SEPA project is properly implemented. The first meeting will take place in the spring.
Mrs Bowles, ladies and gentlemen, I will personally keep Parliament well informed about the work of the SEPA council, particularly when I appear before the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.
My final point concerns respect for the interests of users, a subject which you mentioned, Mrs Bowles. It is unfortunate, but the bank payments industry often seems somewhat reluctant to recognise users’ concerns. Improvements can be made to the way in which the European Payments Council governs, which would encourage transparency and the recognition of users’ concerns. The SEPA council will constitute a good platform for moving towards these improvements.
I also intend to take more direct action on specific points, in particular, the improvements that must be made to the withdrawals system. The Commission and the European Central Bank will be writing very shortly to the European Payments Council to request that they incorporate certain modifications in response to consumers’ concerns. I cannot exclude the possibility that the Commission may take measures if it notices obstacles preventing this, in order to take account of the worries of consumers.
Mr President, Mrs Bowles, ladies and gentlemen, you will have understood that I am determined to act and make SEPA work, as I told you in January. I will, of course, rely on the support of this House and your determination in making these improvements.
Mrs Bowles, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank Parliament for its support for SEPA and to give concrete responses to the five points mentioned by Mrs Bowles, which correctly identify the problems that we must solve. I am also mindful of the preliminary work that was carried out and of Mrs Berès’ and Mr Gauzès’ extremely positive and interesting reports on matters relating to SEPA.
It is true, Mrs Bowles, that a deadline could give the SEPA project some of the impetus it needs. That is what I believe. An expiry date would indeed have several positive effects. It would make the legal position clearer, allow the planning of necessary investments, and bring an end to the coexistence of two payment systems – national and European – which leads to needless expenditure.
A deadline presupposes legislation. My staff are currently analysing various options and their analyses should be finished next spring. We will decide on the most effective course of action on that basis. I can confirm for you that it will be based on legislation.
As I speak to you now – it is early March – it is really too early for me to announce that end date. I have noted your suggestion of 2012, Mrs Bowles, and I will bear it in mind. Whatever the case, we will have to permit operators an adjustment period, for example, 12 months for transfers and at least 24 months for withdrawals. Another advantage of a legislative initiative could be to deal with some of the issues raised by your resolution and by the Economic and Financial Affairs Council in order to improve the quality of SEPA products for users.
My second point, Mrs Bowles, is that we need clarification on multilateral interchange fees. It is an important issue for the financing and therefore the development of SEPA cards and withdrawals. In late 2009, the Commission published a discussion document which included new data as well as the opinions of various types of users on this issue We will touch on the result of that public consultation in a moment. This issue must, of course, be analysed on the basis of its compatibility with competition policy, for which my colleague, Mr Almunia, is responsible.
Nevertheless, I would like to make several comments. There is a short-term, transitory system in place for withdrawals until November 2012, allowing multilateral interchange fees of up to 8.8% for cross-border transactions. I note, however, that more than 70% of withdrawals in Europe are now carried out without the imposition of any multilateral interchange fee on the transaction. The multilateral interchange fee, therefore, does not seem to be the only financing mechanism, or even the most effective one.
For cards, as you know, the Commission has adopted a decision against MasterCard’s cross-border multilateral interchange fees. We did the same for Visa. The procedure regarding MasterCard is being appealed before the Court of Justice. As part of this procedure, specifically with regard to the level and type of these fees, the European Commission has already clarified the rules of the game. The Court’s final rulings should contribute to giving this a firmer legal basis.
Thirdly, as I had the opportunity to mention at my hearing, I am in favour of launching a European initiative on cards. A series of initiatives is being developed in the private sector, for example, the Monnet project, PayFair, and the European Alliance of Payment Schemes. Mrs Bowles, ladies and gentlemen, I will soon be meeting the main players in this market in order to jointly assess their willingness to move forward and perhaps to coordinate their initiatives and determine a framework for action. At the same time, the Commission will be analysing, from the perspective of competition regulations, the arguments presented by the card systems in order to justify their financing system."@en1
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