Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee on the application of Regulation (EC) 1896/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council creating a European order for payment procedure

Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006 of 12 December 2006 created the first genuine European civil procedure, the European order for payment procedure. It has been applied since December 2008 in all Member States except Denmark. It is an optional procedure that can be used in cross-border cases as an alternative to domestic payment orders.

This report has been drawn up in accordance with Article 32 of the Regulation which provides that the Commission shall present to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee a detailed report reviewing the operation of the European order for payment procedure.

The swift and efficient recovery of uncontested outstanding debts is of vital importance for economic operators in the European Union. Late payments are a key cause of insolvencies, in particular of small and medium-sized enterprises, and result in numerous job losses. This has led a number of Member States to introduce a simplified order for payment procedure.

A payment order procedure aims at providing a speedy and cost-effective judicial relief against a debtor to pay a sum of money, on the assumption that the claim will not be contested by the debtor. However, domestic procedures are often inadmissible or impracticable in cross-border cases and their level of performance varies substantially.

It was for these reasons that the European order for payment procedure was introduced. It allows creditors to recover uncontested civil and commercial claims according to a uniform procedure available in 27 Member States. It is a written procedure which does not require presence before the court nor the assistance of a lawyer. The claimant only has to submit an application. No documentary evidence is needed to support the application and no further actions of the claimant are required in the course of the procedure.

The European order for payment is issued by courts or other judicial authorities. It can freely circulate in all Member States without any intermediate proceedings being required in the Member State of enforcement. This means that a European order for payment can be enforced in other Member States like any local payment order issued there, i.e. without the need of a declaration of enforceability.

This streamlined and efficient procedure is designed only for uncontested claims. Therefore, in order to safeguard the effective right of the defense, the defendant can lodge a statement of opposition within 30 days of the order being issued. The defendant must only indicate that he contests the claim, without having to specify reasons for it, and does not need to be represented by a lawyer. In that case, the European order for payment procedure is terminated. The claim may, however, continue to be pursued in accordance with the rules of ordinary civil procedure which will enable the defendant´s arguments to be fully considered.

ESO: Background information: Small claims procedure: Council and Parliament agree on new rules http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-small-claims-procedure-council-and-parliament-agree-on-new-rules/

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