Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2016:341
Date: 2016-05-12
Language of the case: Spanish
Subject matter: Approximation of laws
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Spain

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber), 16 February 2017 Approximation of laws — Combating late payments in commercial transactions — Directive 2011/7 — National legislation making the immediate recovery of the principal amount of a debt conditional upon the waiver of interest for late payment and of compensation for recovery costs — Lawfulness — Condition — Waiver freely agreed to — Verification a matter for the national court (European Parliament and Council Directive 2011/7, Art. 7(2) and (3)) Directive 2011/7/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 on combating late payment in commercial transactions, and Article 7(2) and (3) thereof in particular, must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which allows a creditor to waive his right to interest for late payment and compensation for recovery costs in exchange for immediate payment of the principal amount of debts owed, on condition that such a waiver is freely agreed to, this being a matter for the referring court to verify. In a case such as that in the main proceedings, in order to assess whether the waiver has been freely agreed to, it is necessary to ensure that the creditor was in fact able to rely on any effective legal remedy to seek, had he wished to, payment of the debt in full, including interest for late payment and compensation for recovery costs, this being a matter for the referring court to verify. (see paras 35, 36, operative part)