DOCSLIB.ORG

A Directive to Tackle Late Payments in Commercial Transactions

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Directive to Tackle Late Payments in Commercial Transactions IP/98/291 Brussels, 26 March 1998 A Directive to tackle late payments in commercial transactions The European Commission adopted, on the initiative of Commissioner Christos Papoutsis, responsible for Enterprise Policy, a proposal for a European Parliament and Council of Ministers Directive combating late payments in commercial transactions between enterprises of the private sector and between enterprises and the public sector. The general aim of the proposed Directive is to encourage respect of payment periods and the proposed measures respect the principle of contractual freedom in the private sector. To this effect, the Directive proposes a compensation for late payment, including an interest on any outstanding amount as well as for any further damage caused by late payment, the retention of title by the seller until the buyer has made the payment, accelerated recovery procedures not exceeding 60 days for undisputed debts, simplified legal procedures for small debts, a date limit for the payment of debts not exceeding 21 days unless otherwise specified in the contract, and the prompt and automatic payment by the public sector. The European Commission in adopting this proposal for Directive has taken into account the very serious consequences for all European enterprises, and in particular Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), whose cash-flow, profitability and competitiveness are undermined by the practice of late payments. One out of four insolvencies are due to late payment. This situation is also hindering the development of trade between Member States as well as the smooth functioning of the Internal Market. Commissioner Papoutsis said: "I am satisfied with the adoption of this proposal for Directive. It is designed to solve the big problems European enterprises and in particular SMEs are facing with the continuation of the phenomenon of late payment. It is a measure which has also been requested by the enterprises themselves. Late payment is an unacceptable situation especially when we are trying to help our SMEs to maximise their potential to create jobs, which are badly needed in Europe. I was shocked by the indifference shown by most of the Member States to our Recommendation of 1995 on this problem. Now, I urge them to adopt without any delay this Directive. I call upon them to prove their sensitivity and political will not only to help our SMEs, but also to help create employment". The main elements of the proposed Directive are: 1. Compensation for late payment • The level of interest for late payment (statutory rate) should be at least the sum of the tender (repo) rate of the European Central Bank, which will be the reference rate, plus a margin of at least 8 percentage points. Member States will have the possibility to fix a higher margin. For Member States not participating in the third phase of the Economic and Monetary Union, the reference rate should be the equivalent rate set by their Central Banks. • The statutory rate will be applied when there is no contract signed between the parties, or the existing contract is silent on this matter. • The statutory rate should change automatically if the reference rate has been changed. The margin may be reviewed and if necessary modified by a Commission decision. • Respecting the principle of contractual freedom, the statutory rate will not be applied if another rate is specified in the contract. • The creditor should be entitled to claim not only the interest, but also full compensation from the debtor for any further damage caused by late payment. • The seller (creditor) should be entitled to claim interest from the buyer (debtor) on any outstanding amount when the due date has been exceeded. • The due date for payment of debts, unless otherwise specified in the contract, or if the contract is silent on this subject or there is no contract, should not exceed 21 calendar days from the date of the invoice. 2. Retention of title Member states shall take the appropriate steps to ensure that their legislation contains provisions according to which the seller (creditor) shall retain title to the goods sold until the buyer (debtor) has made the payment. As long as the buyer has not paid, the seller should have the possibility to claim that the goods sold be returned to him. 3. Accelerated recovery procedures for undisputed debts Member States shall ensure that there is an accelerated debt recover procedure for undisputed debts. The whole procedure before the court should not exceed 60 calendar days from the date of the creditor's request until the writ of execution or equivalent document becomes enforceable. The procedure shall be available to creditors from all Member States, irrespective of their place of residence. 4. Simplified legal procedures for small debts Member States should ensure that simplified procedures are available for small debts up to ECU 20,000. These procedures should provide for simple low-cost methods for taking legal action and should be applied on a non-discriminatory basis to creditors of any Member State. 2 5. Public Sector • Member States should take the appropriate measures to ensure that their legislation contains provisions to which public procurement contracts and tender specifications include precise details of the payment periods and deadlines practised. • The due date for the payment of contractual debts by the public authorities should not exceed 60 calendar days, without prejudice to any shorter times currently in effect. · The contract should in no circumstances override this maximum payment period. • If the contract is silent or there is no contract, the due date for the payment should not exceed 21 calendar days as is the case in the private sector. • A creditor should be entitled to interest from the public sector on any outstanding amount when the due date has been exceeded, the interest being paid automatically without the necessity of a claim. • The interest rate applied to the public sector should be the same as for the private sector. • The public authorities should not be permitted to request or require that the creditor does not use any of his rights. 3.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Wk &Rxqflo Phhwlqj 75$163257 /X[Hperxuj -Xqh
    &RQVHLO Luxembourg, 26 June 2000 9547/00 (Presse 224) WK&RXQFLOPHHWLQJ 75$163257 /X[HPERXUJ-XQH President :0U-RUJH&2(/+2 Minister for Social Infrastructure of the Portuguese Republic &217(176 3$57,&,3$176,,, ,7(06'(%$7(' SHIPPING ........................................................................................................................................ IV DIRECTIVE ON SHIP INSPECTION ORGANISATIONS ....................................................... IV DIRECTIVE ON PORT STATE CONTROL OF SHIPPING .................................................... IV REGULATION ON DOUBLE-HULL OIL TANKERS ............................................................... IV MARITIME SAFETY - CONCLUSIONS................................................................................... V GALILEO .......................................................................................................................................... VI AIR TRANSPORT ........................................................................................................................... VII PASSENGER RIGHTS .......................................................................................................... VII SINGLE EUROPEAN SKY.................................................................................................... VIII SAFETY REQUIREMENTS AND ATTESTATION OF PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE FOR CABIN CREWS IN CIVIL AVIATION ................................................. VIII ESTABLISHMENT OF A EUROPEAN AVIATION SAFETY AUTHORITY (EASA).............
    [Show full text]
  • Merkel's Move to Reunify Cyprus Gets a Turkish Boot
    O C V ΓΡΑΦΕΙ ΤΗΝ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ Bringing the news ΤΟΥ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ to generations of ΑΠΟ ΤΟ 1915 The National Herald Greek Americans c v A wEEKly GREEK AmERICAN PuBlICATION www.thenationalherald.com VOL. 14, iSSUE 692 January 15-21 , 2011 $1.50 Daopoulos Merkel’s Move to Reunify Cyprus Gets a Turkish Boot Replays Erdogan Slaps His NFL Her Down With Odyssey Hard Reprimand NICOSIA - Citing her own coun - By Constantine S. Sirigos try’s post-World War II experi - TNH Staff Writer ences as a model, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s sug - NEW YORK – Jim Daopoulos gestions on how to re-unify the has seen the battles up close and divided island of Cyprus were inside the command centers. He almost immediately rebuffed by has witnessed the blood and the Turkish Prime Minister Recep guts and has scars of his own to Tayyip Erdogan, who has had a prove it. He has observed the history of clashes with her be - flower of America’s athletic cause Merkel does not want his youth clash with opponents and country admitted into the Euro - give everything they’ve got, and pean Union. Merkel, after a visit has gone toe-to-toe with their to Nicosia, the divided capital commanders when they were on the island, said Turkey was upset they hadn’t won the game doing too little to help resolve or gotten the best out of their the crisis that has been ongoing people, spewing words a family since that country invaded newspaper cannot print. Cyprus in 1974, and which still Daopoulos has devoted four keeps a standing army there.
    [Show full text]
  • Birkbeck Institutional Research Online
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Birkbeck Institutional Research Online Birkbeck ePrints BIROn - Birkbeck Institutional Research Online Enabling open access to Birkbeck’s published research output The panhellenic Socialist movement and European integration: the primacy of the leader Book chapter (Author’s draft) http://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/5079 Citation: Dimitrakopoulos, D.; Passas, A.G. (2010) The panhellenic Socialist movement and European integration: the primacy of the leader In Dimitrakopoulos, D. (Ed.) - Social Democracy and European Integration: The Politics of Preference Formation (ISBN: 9780415559850) © 2010 Routledge Publisher Page ______________________________________________________________ All articles available through Birkbeck ePrints are protected by intellectual property law, including copyright law. Any use made of the contents should comply with the relevant law. ______________________________________________________________ Deposit Guide Contact: [email protected] Published in Social Democracy and European Integration: The Politics of Preference Formation, edited by D. G. Dimitrakopoulos, 117-156. London/New York: Routledge, 2010. 4 The Panhellenic Socialist Movement and European Integration: The Primacy of the Leader Dionyssis G. Dimitrakopoulos and Argyris G. Passas Introduction1 This chapter focuses on the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) and seeks to trace the origin and the content of its preferences on European integration since its establishment in 1974. It challenges the established view that – couched as it is in PASOK’s rhetoric in the immediate post-1974 era – construes PASOK as an initially instinctively anti-European political party that subsequently performed a policy U- turn, a true political transformation by turning from a vocal anti-EEC stance to a pro- European (even federalist) attitude (Tsardanidis 1998, 295, 299, 300; Kazakos 1994, 5; Verney 1987, 259-60, 263; Featherstone 1988, 178; Couloumbis 1993, 126; Featherstone 1994, 158-9).
    [Show full text]
  • POLICE VIOLENCE in GREECE 5 Not Just ‘Isolated Incidents’
    Police violence in G reece Not JUst ‘IsolatEd INcIdENts’ amnesty international is a global movement of more than 3 million supporters, members and activists in more than 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abuses of human rights. our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the universal declaration of Human rights and other international human rights standards. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations. First published in 2012 by amnesty international ltd Peter Benenson House 1 easton street london Wc1X 0dW united Kingdom © amnesty international 2012 index: eur 25/005/2012 english original language: english Printed by amnesty international, international secretariat, united Kingdom all rights reserved. this publication is copyright, but may be reproduced by any method without fee for advocacy, campaigning and teaching purposes, but not for resale. the copyright holders request that all such use be registered with them for impact assessment purposes. For copying in any other circumstances, or for reuse in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, prior written permission must be obtained from the publishers, and a fee may be payable. to request permission, or for any other inquiries, please contact [email protected] Cover photo : a Greek riot police officer kicks a protester during clashes in syntagma square, athens, 15 june 2011. © aP Photo/lefteris Pitarakis amnesty.org
    [Show full text]
  • Preuzimanje (12.905 Kb
    MEMO/10/450 Brussels, 27 September 2010 Joint statement by Mr Christos Papoutsis, Minister of Citizen Protection of Greece and Cecilia Malmström, European Commissioner in charge of Home Affairs: Greece and the Commission agree to enhance cooperation on reforming the Greek asylum system 1. The Minister of Citizen Protection Mr Christos Papoutsis and the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ms Cecilia Malmström met in Athens on 27 September to discuss ways to assist Greece in its efforts to reform the Greek asylum system. 2. They acknowledge the unprecedented pressure on the Greek asylum and migration management system, which is a result of large number of persons from third countries entering Greek territory both as irregular migrants and as asylum seekers, due to its geographical position at the EU external borders. Greece underlines the additional burden as a result of the implementation of the Dublin II Regulation. In the framework of a common European migration and asylum policy, the challenges faced by Greece have to be commonly addressed by the European Union as a whole. 3. The Greek Government has decided to reform the national asylum system, in order to better address, in an efficient and coherent way, the needs of asylum seekers arriving in Greece. 4. The European Commission greatly values the strong commitment of the Greek government to undertake all possible efforts and considers that it is paramount to make rapid progress in improving the situation. 5. Coordination is needed at European level to address pressures on the Greek national asylum and reception system. The Commission and the EU Member States have already expressed their readiness to assist Greece in the implementation of the ambitious plan of reforms.
    [Show full text]
  • EURO-Info : MONTHLY 87 January/February 1996
    wmall and IVI edi urn-sized EURO-M^ Interprises Craft sector The Conclusions from the Forum on European Tourism IN THIS NUMBER The Conclusions from the Forum on European rie importance and vitality of European tourism in economic and social terms were for• Tourism p. 1 cefully reasserted for the 350 people who participated in the Forum on European * TTourism held in Brussels on 8 December 1995. CONCERTED ACTION While congratulating Mr Christos Papoutsis, the Member of the European Commission res• No. 2: The Madrid ponsible for Tourism, for promoting this opportunity to debate the results of the public Forum p. 2 consultation which was based on the Green Book on the role of the EU in questions of Tou• * rism, the participants of the Forum clearly confirmed their common concerns in the light of the new importance of European Tourism: SME INITIATIVE: Programmes for SMEs in — the chance to stimulate cooperation with and amongst operators, both public and private; Portugal, France and — the need to intensify the coordination of Community actions impacting on tourism and Germany p. 3 to increase systematically the effect of these measures; — the usefulness of concentrating the specific actions in favour of tourism on targeted * objectives. REGIE: A Conference in As Commissioner Papoutsis pointed out, 'the objective of competitiveness in European tou• Brussels p. 5 rism combining better satisfying the needs of tourists with a balanced and sustainable deve• * lopment strategy for tourism is henceforth a priority.' EICs: Seminars on In their speeches to the Forum, Mario d'Addio, Italian Secretary of State responsible for Payment Periods p.
    [Show full text]
  • REY Commission (1967-1970)
    COMPOSITION OF THE COMMISSION 1958-2004 HALLSTEIN Commission (1958-1967) REY Commission (1967-1970) MALFATTI – MANSHOLT Commission (1970-1973) ORTOLI Commission (1973-1977) JENKINS Commission (1977-1981) THORN Commission (1981-1985) DELORS Commission (1985) DELORS Commission (1986-1988) DELORS Commission (1989-1995) SANTER Commission (1995-1999) PRODI Commission (1999-2004) HALLSTEIN COMMISSION 1 January 1958 – 30 June 1967 TITLE RESPONSIBLITIES REPLACEMENT (Date appointed) Walter HALLSTEIN President Administration Sicco L. MANSHOLT Vice-President Agriculture Robert MARJOLIN Vice-President Economics and Finance Piero MALVESTITI Vice-President Internal Market Guiseppe CARON (resigned September 1959) (24 November 1959) (resigned 15 May 1963) Guido COLONNA di PALIANO (30 July 1964) Robert LEMAIGNEN Member Overseas Development Henri ROCHEREAU (resigned January 1962) (10 January 1962) Jean REY Member External Relations Hans von der GROEBEN Member Competition Guiseppe PETRILLI Member Social Affairs Lionello LEVI-SANDRI (resigned September 1960) (8 February 1961) named Vice-president (30 July 1064) Michel RASQUIN (died 27 April 1958) Member Transport Lambert SCHAUS (18 June 1958) REY COMMISSION 2 July 1967 – 1 July 1970 TITLE RESPONSIBLITIES REPLACEMENT (Date appointed) Jean REY President Secretariat General Legal Service Spokesman’s Service Sicco L. MANSHOLT Vice-president Agriculture Lionelle LEVI SANDRI Vice-president Social Affairs Personnel/Administration Fritz HELLWIG Vice-president Research and Technology Distribution of Information Joint
    [Show full text]
  • EURO-Info : MONTHLY 85 9-1995
    ►mall and M EURO-infö The Craft and Small Enterprises, Keys to Growth and Employment in Europe IN THIS NUMBER The Craft and Small Enterprises, Keys to ie European Commission adopted on 26 October 1995 a Communication1 on the Growth and Employment results of the Second European Conference on the Craft Sector and Small and in Europe p. 1 Medium-sized Enterprises, held in Berlin on 26 and 27 September 19942. The Com• Tmunication also covers the follow-up given to this conference and a series of recommenda• The 15 Are Unanimous: tions from the Member States. SMEs Must be The Communication, entitled 'The Craft and Small Enterprises, Keys to Growth and Helped p. 3 Employment in Europe', is the response to a request from the Council and provides a basis for discussions aimed at producing a certain number of priority measures. Toward the Creation of a European Capital Market for SMEs p. 4 This report is accompanied by two annexes: • Annex 1, which includes the conclusions of the participants at the Berlin con• ference, is addressed to the Commission, to the other institutions of the European INTERPRISE Union, and to the Member States; • Annex 2, in which the Commission meets the Council's request to present an initial EURO INFO report on the actions carried out since the Berlin Conference. CORRESPONDENCE Based on these proposals, the Commission has accepted ten measures which it feels CENTRES: Now to be of particular priority. Just how these measures are to be implemented will be Operating in 19 Third specified in the third pluriannual programme in favour of SMEs and the craft sector Countries p.
    [Show full text]
  • Politics: the Right Or the Wrong Sort of Medicine for the EU?
    Policy paper N°19 Politics: The Right or the Wrong Sort of Medicine for the EU? Two papers by Simon Hix and Stefano Bartolini Notre Europe Notre Europe is an independent research and policy unit whose objective is the study of Europe – its history and civilisations, integration process and future prospects. The association was founded by Jacques Delors in the autumn of 1996 and presided by Tommaso Padoa- Schioppa since November 2005. It has a small team of in-house researchers from various countries. Notre Europe participates in public debate in two ways. First, publishing internal research papers and second, collaborating with outside researchers and academics to contribute to the debate on European issues. These documents are made available to a limited number of decision-makers, politicians, socio-economists, academics and diplomats in the various EU Member States, but are systematically put on our website. The association also organises meetings, conferences and seminars in association with other institutions or partners. Proceedings are written in order to disseminate the main arguments raised during the event. Foreword With the two papers published in this issue of the series “Policy Papers”, Notre Europe enters one of the critical debates characterising the present phase of the European construction. The debate revolves around the word ‘politicisation’, just as others revolve around words like ‘democracy’, ‘identity’, bureaucracy’, ‘demos’, ‘social’. The fact that the key words of the political vocabulary are gradually poured into the EU mould is in itself significant. In narrow terms, the issue at stake is whether the European institutions should become ‘politicised’ in the sense in which national institutions are, i.e.
    [Show full text]
  • Re-Imagining Greek Identity in an Era of Mass Migration
    Re-imagining Greek Identity in an Era of Mass Migration Philip Angelides Colorado College Abstract Greek nationalism emerging out of the Enlightenment stressed the primordial belief that Modern Greeks are the descendents of the Ancient Greeks. This type of nationalism was exclusionary and repressive towards foreigners, yet is pervasive in contemporary Greek immigration policy. Greek immigration is incredibly important today because in 2010 alone, 90 percent of detected illegal immigrants in the European Union entered through Greece, a large percentage of these being Muslim immigrants. In this paper I contend that political rights must be granted to Muslim immigrants that call Greece their home, for ethnocultural differences should not preclude political, economic or social integration. Individual characteristics of the members of the community should not determine whether they are worthy of political rights or not. Terms for immigrants should rather be defined in political and institutional terms rather than in ethnic and cultural; only though recognizing the ability for Muslims to participate in the political and economic life of the Greek state can peaceful coexistence materialize. This paper, thus, is particularly significant because it exposes the Greek path dependency on a flawed immigration policy and suggests ways for reconciling national identity in an era of mass migration. 1 Table of Contents I. Introduction.......................................................... 3 II. The Formation of Greek National Identity...... 5 III. An Era of Mass Migration ............................ 12 IV. Greek Reactions to the Illegal Immigration Phenomenon........................................................... 16 Citizenship and Legal Framework ...................... 17 Racism and Institutional ‘Otherization’ ............. 21 Muslim Immigrants in the Greek Workforce ..... 27 Concluding Thoughts .......................................... 29 V. Solutions ...........................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Securitizing Migration in the European Union: Greece and the Evros Fence
    Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies ISSN: 1944-8953 (Print) 1944-8961 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cjsb20 Securitizing Migration in the European Union: Greece and the Evros Fence Ioannis N. Grigoriadis & Esra Dilek To cite this article: Ioannis N. Grigoriadis & Esra Dilek (2019) Securitizing Migration in the European Union: Greece and the Evros Fence, Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 21:2, 170-186, DOI: 10.1080/19448953.2018.1506280 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2018.1506280 Published online: 19 Aug 2018. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 203 View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=cjsb20 JOURNAL OF BALKAN AND NEAR EASTERN STUDIES 2019, VOL. 21, NO. 2, 170–186 https://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2018.1506280 RESEARCH ARTICLE Securitizing Migration in the European Union: Greece and the Evros Fence Ioannis N. Grigoriadis and Esra Dilek Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey ABSTRACT This article focuses on the securitization of migration in Greece through the case of the Evros anti-immigrant fence. The fence was constructed in 2012 with the aim to limit the flow of irregular migration from Turkey to Greece. This paper explores the reasons why the Greek government decided to build the fence and its political implications by focusing on the securitization of migration in Greece both through practices and through securitizing rheto- ric. The paper argues that the construction of the Evros fence is closely associated with changing perceptions of threat and the framing of migrants as risky and threatening both at the national and the EU levels.
    [Show full text]
  • All Hands on Deck a Realist Perspective on EU-China Climate Change Cooperation
    All Hands on Deck A Realist Perspective on EU-China Climate Change Cooperation © China Daily MSc Thesis (30 ECTS) Name: F.P. (Freek) Terberg Student number: 6620434 E-mail address: [email protected] Supervisor: Dr. R.E. (Rakhyun) Kim Second reader: Prof. Dr. F.H.B. (Frank) Biermann Word count: 13,011 Date: 2nd of July 2020 1 Abstract: Over the past decades, the EU and China have increasingly cooperated on the topic of climate change. Numerous studies have been carried out that highlight institutionalization and mutual gains as factors contributing to this cooperation. Realism, however, an important theoretical tradition, has often been ignored, which limits our understanding of EU-China climate change cooperation. This thesis aimed to fill this gap, by adjusting Contingent and Offensive Realism, traditionally preoccupied with military power, to the topic of climate change. In doing so, this thesis identified new factors that contributed to the emergence and endurance of EU-China climate change cooperation. It found that uncertainty reducing communication strategies aided the emergence of EU-China climate change cooperation. Furthermore, it uncovered that endurance of said cooperation was due, at least in part, to (a) recognition of climate change as a common threat and (b) recognition of cooperation as necessary to reduce the common threat. Through its analysis, this thesis demonstrates the explanatory power of Realist theories for EU- China climate change cooperation, thereby warranting future applications of Realism on related topics. Keywords: EU-China; cooperation; climate change; contingent realism; uncertainty; offensive realism; common threat; security; Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Dr R.
    [Show full text]