Zpráva o opožděných platbách
Press Release
28 April 2010
Adoption of Draft Report on Late Payment
EDMA, the European Diagnostic Manufacturers Association, welcomes the adoption of the Draft Report on the recast of Directive 2000/35/EC on combating late payment in commercial transactions, voted today by the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO). However, strong concerns remain as the IVD industry is severely affected by late payment with delays which exceed hundreds of days in several EU Member States.
Brussels, 28 April 2010 – The Draft Report provides for a maximum payment period of 30 days for both private undertakings and public authorities, which may be extended to 60 days in exceptional circumstances. Nonetheless, with regard to public health institutions and public medico-social institutions, the payment period shall be 60 days as a general rule.
EDMA regrets this exception as it might cause current good payers in the healthcare sector to delay their payments to 60 days. “The MEPs have clearly missed an opportunity to set the grounds for a culture of prompt payment which we would like to see”, EDMA Director General Christine Tarrajat lamented after the vote. “Nevertheless, EDMA is pleased that our arguments against the exclusion of public hospitals from the scope of the Directive, which had initially been intended by a number of MEPs, have been taken into account”, she continued.
EDMA is also concerned about the introduction of maximum payment limits for business to business (B2B) transactions which will interfere with the principle of freedom of contract. In order to maintain their business relations, the majority of companies affected by late payment in B2B transactions do not take legal action against their debtors. Therefore, maximum payment limits will not help ease the burden of late payment for B2B transactions; instead, such provisions are likely to increase the financial constraints of SMEs relying on trade credit.
Furthermore, the Draft Report fixes the interest rate that becomes payable in case of payment delays at the ECB reference rate, plus at least nine percentage points. However, EDMA regrets that the lump-sum compensation which had been initially foreseen has been deleted, and creditors will only be entitled to a compensation for recovery costs of €40.
EDMA appreciates the efforts of the European Parliament – in particular of rapporteur Barbara Weiler (DE, S&D) and the shadow rapporteurs – in trying to establish a culture of prompt payment in Europe. The adoption of the final Parliament Report is scheduled for the Plenary Session in May. However, further progress on the dossier remains uncertain, as the possibility of reaching agreement with the Council in first reading is still undetermined. If agreement is reached in first reading, the Recast of the Directive will be published before the end of the year.
About EDMA
EDMA, the European Diagnostic Manufacturers Association, represents national associations and major companies engaged in the research, development, manufacture or distribution of In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) tests in Europe. Through its membership, EDMA represents in total more than 500 companies (or over 700 legal entities) across Europe. The mission of EDMA is to raise awareness of the importance, usefulness and added value that diagnostic information can provide to healthcare. For this purpose, EDMA cooperates with European institutions, patients groups, trade associations, health professionals and academia to support an appropriate regulatory system, to work towards a realistic economic environment for healthcare in Europe and to be an effective voice in globalisation.