Brussels, 22/11/2006 (Agence Europe) - Speaking to the Parliamentary economic and financial committee on Tuesday 21 November, European Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy was critical of the slow progress made by the Council on the draft directive on payment services. “Progress in Council has been slower than hoped. Good intentions and commitments unanimously expressed by ECOFIN Ministers in October need to be converted into tangible agreements,” he said. Thanking the committee for its speedy work on this issue and speaking about innovations made by the industry as part of the Single European Payment Area (SEPA), he regretted that negotiations were being held up by “national preoccupations”. He stressed that the industry needed the “certainty” of a finalised directive before it could commit further to the significant IT investments, without which efficiency gains for the European economy which a European Payments Area should bring would be thrown into doubt.
A political agreement in Council would pave the way for rapid adoption of the legislative proposal. The European Parliament, co-legislator on this issue, delayed its first reading vote on the report by Jean-Paul Gauzès (EPP-ED, France) to give itself time to see how things were progressing in the Council and to negotiate a first reading agreement (see EUROPE 9265).
When asked by EUROPE, Mr Gauzès said that discussions had foundered on the legislative proposal's arrangements on new payment institutions. The Gauzès report, which has been adopted in Parliamentary committee, is in favour of new operators coming in, creating greater competition. Legal security for consumers is called for through monitoring of the activities of these institutions and capital requirements of between €100,000 and €500,000. “Yes, there is the need to reinforce the prudential requirements for payment providers. But first of all we have to give them the chance to really compete in the payments market,” said McCreevy on this issue. According to a well-place source, among the Member States, who are resisting imposing too great prudential requirements on new operators are the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries. In the United Kingdom, for example, any physical person can exercise the activity of payment institution. The Gauzès report is not favour of this, but accepts exemptions under Commission control.
On the speed of transactions, Mr McCreevy has always felt that D+1 - that is, the day after the payment order is made - was “feasible - technologically and economically”. “It is what users and markets want,” he observed. The compromise reached in the Gauzès report allows for a D+2 rule from 2010.
Given the difficulties Member States face, what may be expected of the Ecofin Council of 28 November? There are “two possibilities”, according to Mr Gauzes: either Member States send a strong message that allows the prospect of an agreement soon, in which case the EP will hold a first reading vote in February or March 2007; or the Ecofin Council does send out sufficiently clear signals and the EP will vote on the report in December. Confident of obtaining a comfortable majority in plenary session in support of his report, Mr Gauzès said the second possibility would necessarily mean a second reading. (mb)