The French government asks Brussels to “rework” a text on payment deadlines

The Minister for SMEs, Commerce and Crafts Olivia Grégoire considered that the European text on late payments from business suppliers should "be reworked", Monday November 27 to the daily Les Echos after a revolt from associations of traders.

"The late payment regulation includes a provision in Article 3 that harmonizes and shortens payment deadlines without any sectoral derogation. It needs to be reworked. We are asking the European Commission for an impact study to support future decisions ", said Olivia Grégoire.

“In absolute terms, Brussels’ desire to fight against payment delays and deadlines at European level is going in the right direction,” she said again. But "the system which is proposed on the deadlines risks causing significant disruptions for businesses in commerce and industry", she said, calling for "allowing time for consultation".

The European Commission proposed on September 12 a new regulation on payment deadlines which is to replace a 2011 directive. The proposal "introduces a stricter maximum payment deadline of 30 days, eliminates ambiguities and addresses legal loopholes in the directive current", said the body in a press release.

The proposed text also "guarantees the automatic payment of interest due and compensation costs", and "also introduces new enforcement and recourse measures to protect businesses against bad payers". This, with the aim of “meeting the needs of European small and medium-sized businesses”.

But several professional associations of traders, both French and European, have criticized this project.

Reducing "the maximum period from 60 to 30 days" "will mechanically increase payment delays by putting pressure on merchants' cash flow" and "threaten the survival of the most fragile companies" which will face "very serious liquidity problems". important", for example said in October the French Commerce Council (CDCF), which brings together around thirty trade federations.

He states that the "cash drain carried out to the detriment of French traders would be of the order of 25 to 30 billion euros" if the European Commission's proposal were to be ratified as it stands. However, the text is at the very beginning of its legislative process.