Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-04-19-Speech-1-112"
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"en.20040419.9.1-112"2
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".
Mr President, this is the third time that I have come to a plenary session to address the issue of payments. An efficient and secure payment system is an essential complement to the free movement of goods and services in the European Union. Let me give you one figure to illustrate this. Every EU citizen carries out, on average, 138 non-cash payment transactions each year. An efficient system must be based on a robust and dynamic regulatory framework that ensures competition, consumer protection and safety in payment transactions. Pan-European trade needs an effective underlying payment system if it is to expand.
The regulation on cross-border payments adopted in 2001 has made it easier and cheaper to perform many types of payments in euro within the internal market. However, we are not yet where we want to be and need to be. Significant obstacles remain, as are highlighted in our communication. To deliver an improved regulatory environment for payments, remaining legal and technical barriers to intra-EU payments should be identified and removed. In other words, the whole internal market ought to be transformed into one efficient domestic payment area. That is our main purpose.
EU legislation in this field is necessary. But for certain issues, self- or co-regulation could be the best approach. That also satisfies Mr Radwan's desire for more subsidiarity. As always, the solution should be proportionate to the problem it is intended to solve.
The four guiding principles for the Commission’s future regulatory proposal should be as follows. Firstly, to modernise the existing EU legislation on payments. Secondly, to inject more competition into this market for the ultimate benefit of our citizens. The basic idea is that the provision of payment services should be open to all appropriate providers, but without sacrificing consumer protection. We must therefore design an appropriate supervisory framework matching all types of payment service providers. The guiding principle here must be: 'same business, same risks, same rules'.
Thirdly, we need to develop a trustworthy pan-European payment area in which consumers feel that they have the same protection, no matter where they are and what kind of payment instrument they use. A single and balanced set of rules should be defined on parties' rights and obligations regarding, for example, misuse of a payment instrument and revocability of payment orders.
Fourthly, we need to incorporate the relevant Financial Action Task Force, or FATF, special recommendations into EU legislation to combat the financing of criminal activities.
Let me stress that given their decisive contribution to the competitiveness of our economy, payments are high on the Commission’s agenda. We shall need the strong support of this Parliament, and in this respect I am encouraged by the terms of the resolution which has been put forward by Mr Radwan. I welcome all amendments submitted by Members of this House.
I shall wind up by thanking Mr Radwan for the report which he has submitted and I assure him that, just as he wishes to have less bureaucracy, that is precisely what this Commissioner and the Commission as a whole also want."@en1
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