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EU to ease cross-border recovery of small debts

Xinhua, October 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

The European Parliament (EP) Wednesday made legal changes to the European Small Claims Procedure through a vote, making cross-border recovery of small debts within the European Union (EU) much easier.

According to an EP statement, more EU citizens and small firms will be able to use the simplified procedure to resolve low-value disputes across borders. Moreover, these changes, which still need to be formally approved by EU ministers, would raise the ceiling on debts recoverable using the procedure from 2,000 euros (2,249 U.S. dollars) to 5,000 euros.

Fees for using the European Small Claims Procedure should be proportionate to the value of the claim and should be no higher than the court fees charged for national simplified court procedures, cited one of the key changes.

The mended procedure also required EU member states to make it possible to use distance payment methods to settle court fees.

Meanwhile, the EU encouraged member states to use distance communication technology in court cases to reduce costs.

"Simplifying the litigation process and reducing the costs of cross-border small claims is important especially for consumers and SMEs," said one lead EP member.

The EP said that within the next few years it would assess the implications of a possible future extension of the procedure to ease access to justice for employees in cross-border employment disputes with their employers, for example over salaries earned in different member states.

The European Small Claims Procedure, in use since 2009, is a simplified optional procedure based on standard forms for recovering money owed by someone in another EU country.

The procedure has reduced the costs of litigation for cross-border small claims by up to 40 percent, and the duration of litigation from more than two years to an average of five months.

The new rules still need to be approved by the Council of Ministers to enter into force. They will take effect 18 months after they become law. (1 euro=1.12 U.S. dollars) Endit