IP/97/1051

Brussels, 28 novembre 1997

Strong support for legislation to combat late payments

Four out of five written responses in a consultation carried out by the on the problem of late payments favour European Union legislation. The Commission has consulted widely on the best way forward to tackle the problem of late payments. 114 written responses have been received, and the Commission organised a public hearing in Brussels on 7 October where more than 200 people were present. Of the written responses, 91 (80%) were in favour of EU legislation. 23 (20%) were broadly against EU legislation, although some of these favoured EU legislation on specific subjects such as late payments by the public sector.

Commissioner Christos Papoutsis, responsible for Enterprise Policy, has confirmed his intention to propose a Directive with a view to solve the problem of late payments in Europe. In a statement, he said: “I am very encouraged by these results. They show that there is great concern about the problems caused by late payments, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. They also confirm that people want the Commission to act. I am determined to tackle this problem and I intend to propose a Directive shortly”.

At the public hearing, there was strong support for the Commission’s new initiative including from representatives of the and the Economic and Social Committee.

The written responses show support for a right to interest on late payments with a rate of interest set high enough to deter late payers. In addition, the right for the creditor to be compensated for the full costs of pursuing debts, such as administrative and legal costs is strongly supported. All those who commented on the public sector are in favour of legislative action, for example setting maximum payment times and an automatic right to interest for late payments by the public sector. There is also unanimous support for an EU-wide retention of title clause, and many responses favour simplifying redress procedures.

Responses came from a wide range of countries and the great majority of them are from national trade associations, representing a wide variety of sectors. Comments were also received from European organisations, including those representing businesses, lawyers and debt collection agencies.