Mr President, it is a pity that the debates on consumer credit and on the single payment area were not combined, because the same issue is at stake in both of them: do we want to construct a European market in retail financial services? Up to now, priority has been given to the wholesale market and to investment services. During this legislative period, the only initiative of any note – though it is an important one – has been the one on the rules for setting rates for cross-border payment transactions within the euro zone. This debate is, therefore, important and I believe that we must now set a clear political objective. That, I believe, is what the Commission wants. The euro cannot be a complete success unless we construct the euro zone as an internal area for payment methods. In order to do that, it is vital that we should achieve interbanking in the infrastructure. The activity of supplying payment services presupposes, admittedly, the removal of national obstacles, but at the same time it also requires prudential supervision. It is on that basis that the internal retail banking market, and in particular the consumer credit market, will be able to develop, and that in turn will allow European banking operators to emerge. Of course, within that integrated area it will be necessary to take into account the diversity of the operators involved, and in particular the special nature of savings banks and mutual societies. What, though, is the best way to proceed? The application of the ‘country of origin’ rule with minimum harmonisation seems to us to be negative, both as regards consumer protection and from the point of view of fair competition. Mr Radwan’s report, which leans in that direction, gives far too much preference to self-regulation. On the other hand, however, maximum harmonisation would leave no room for diversity and would, therefore, also cause a problem. That is why I believe that the best solution is to agree on the common principles of general interest, the common concepts, particularly with regard to universal access to payment methods with a high level of security, services which are inexpensive but in which there is great confidence. The rules governing cross-border transactions must be precise, and intense cooperation is necessary between national regulators. With that in mind, there are several points in Mr Radwan’s report which in my opinion require adjustment. Thus in paragraph 17 the rule recommended by the Commission should be reinstated, that is, the rule restricting customers’ liability to EUR 150 in the event of unauthorised transactions where they have not given notification. As for pan-European direct debit, account-holders must be able to refuse a payment before it is debited from their account. If there is a substantial modification in rates, it must be possible to close or move an account, at no cost, at the request of the customer. It is also necessary to re-establish the liability of the payment service providers over the whole of the payment chain. Finally, it is also necessary to have stronger Community rules to combat the funding of terrorism. The system of complete information must, therefore, also apply to payment transfers outside the Community as well as those within the Community.

Political group: GUE-NGL