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Document 92003E001333
WRITTEN QUESTION E-1333/03 by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission. Unlawful charging of commission by banks.
SCHRIFTLICHE ANFRAGE E-1333/03 von Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) an die Kommission. Vorschriftswidrige Erhebung von Bankgebühren.
SCHRIFTLICHE ANFRAGE E-1333/03 von Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) an die Kommission. Vorschriftswidrige Erhebung von Bankgebühren.
ABl. C 33E vom 6.2.2004, p. 105–106
(ES, DA, DE, EL, EN, FR, IT, NL, PT, FI, SV)
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6.2.2004 |
EN |
Official Journal of the European Union |
CE 33/105 |
(2004/C 33 E/106)
WRITTEN QUESTION E-1333/03
by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission
(9 April 2003)
Subject: Unlawful charging of commission by banks
Despite the entry into force of the euro and Regulation (EC) No 2560/2001 (1) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2001 on cross-border payments in euro, banking institutions and banks in general continue to charge commission for both transfers and the depositing of cheques from the various European countries.
The Belgian Post Office still uses the phrase ‘from abroad’ when notifying bank transfers from other European countries.
This constitutes an extra burden and inconvenience for the general public, especially immigrants, who are often obliged to make trans-national payments and transfers. Can the Commission say:
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whether it can take steps to ensure that transfers between Member States of the euro zone are defined as ‘from the Union’ and ban the phrase ‘from abroad’; |
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whether the charging of this kind of commission by banks is compatible with current European legislation; |
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how it intends to tackle any infringement of the Regulation which may be ascertained; |
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how it intends to regulate, for transfers and cheques from the Member States of the Union, the levying of charges equal to those levied for transfers and cheques within a country? |
Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission
(4 June 2003)
Regulation (EC) No 2560/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2001 on cross-border payments in euro establishes the principle of equal charges between strictly national payments and cross-border payments in euro within Community territory. For electronic payments, the Regulation entered into force on 1 July 2002. It will apply to transfers as of 1 July 2003. However, the principle of equal charges does not apply to cheques because the legislator took the view that cheques have no future as a method of cross-border payment.
During the first half of 2003 cross-border payments in euro will therefore continue to attract higher charges than national transfers. This will change in July. Nothing will change as regards cheques, however: the banking community is setting up a policy to deter cheque use which consists in either raising charges further or stopping issuing cheques altogether.
By end-2002 a number of cases of non-compliance had been brought to the Commission's attention. It immediately contacted the various national authorities responsible for implementing the Regulation as per Article 7, and the problems were quickly resolved. The banks in question did not dispute that mistakes had been made either in printing documents (uncorrected lists of charges) or in applying charges to certain type of payment.
The Commission will of course continue to monitor the correct implementation of Regulation (EC) No 2560/2001 in accordance with the powers conferred on it by the Treaty.
(1) OJ L 344, 28.12.2001, p. 13.