Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-10-19-Speech-2-559"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20101019.23.2-559"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Madam President, I would very much like to join the chorus of thanks and congratulations, which are more than a mere formality this evening. I would like to thank Commissioner Tajani for his personal commitment, the Council for its flexibility and, of course, my colleagues, for reaching this compromise in first reading that is so important for us in business. In particular, I thank my friend Małgorzata Handzlik of the EPP.
Having been a businesswoman myself before entering this House, I am fully aware that late payment is a serious issue for small companies. Sometimes, it can lead to bankruptcy. Other times, at best, it can be a cause of uncertainty and can damage business.
Limiting the payment period for public administrative authorities to 60 days is, of course, a major achievement, since public authorities, as Commissioner Tajani has just said, simply have to process payments, so it is a matter of reducing bureaucracy.
I am also glad that we have introduced BtoB as small businesses now have a clear legal framework to enable them to make claims for late payment from big companies, something they at times did not dare to do.
I believe that we have found a good balance between respect for freedom of contract – which is all important – and providing small companies with the necessary tools to avoid being held hostage by bigger companies or public administration. Instead of spending their time chasing debts, they can now devote their resources to effectively exercising their right to receive payment, interest and compensation.
I believe this agreement should be a tool to deter late payments rather than a tool to enforce collection of late payments and, as Malcolm Harbour said, to really create a culture of paying on time which will make for a better functioning internal market and, of course, benefit all the stakeholders.
We have shown that Parliament can take concrete measures that can really make a difference, create more jobs and assist SMEs. Now, the overriding issue is for the Council and the Member States to assume their responsibility to make sure that these rules are properly enforced."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata | |
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples