20/07/2005 (Agence Europe) - Charlie McCreevy, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, confirmed on Tuesday that he intends to present a proposal for a directive on payments in the autumn. Announced for June in the Green Paper on financial services (see EUROPE 8941), the legislative proposal will aim at eliminating the legal and technical obstacles that prevent the internal market from becoming an effective domestic payments zone. It should facilitate safe cross-border payments by credit card, payment card, electronic bank transfer or direct debit. Charlie McCreevy pointed out that the timetable in place is not entirely to his liking, with reference to the roadmap of the European Payments Council (EPC) which sets at 2010 the setting in place of a pan-European system. He added that he hopes to encourage the EPC by using “either the carrot or the stick”.