On Thursday 17 May, the European Commission decided to reduce the penalty that Spain may be ordered to pay for failing to implement the European directive (2014/92) on payment accounts.
The Commission will finally ask the Court to impose a daily fine of €48,919.20 on the country with effect from the date of the judgment until the directive is fully transposed, down from the €97,838.40 initially proposed.
In so doing, the Commission is confirming its decision of October 2017 (see EUROPE 11876) to refer Spain to the Court, but is taking account of the fact that Spain notified a partial transposition in November 2017, a European official explained, adding that a lesser gravity factor had been applied to the new calculation.
The directive, which has been in force since September 2016, allows any person legally residing in the EU to hold a basic payment account at a reasonable cost, irrespective of his or her place of residence (see EUROPE 11061). It also improves the transparency of the costs of payment accounts and makes it easier to compare and change accounts.
The Court will be called upon to set the definitive fine, although this may not exceed the level proposed by the Commission. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)