13.9.93 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC249/21
3.2.Article2—FinalProvisions Itisthereforeproposedthatthefollowingtextshould
beaddedattheendofArticle6oftheUCITSDirective
(Directive85/611/EECof20December1985):
t
'andpensionfunds.Amanagementcompanymay
manageitsownassetsandcarryoutauxiliarytrans­
actionsdirectlylinkedtoitsmainactivity.'Thedeadlineof1July1994forincorporation ofthe
proposalintonationallegislationseemsrealisticand
doesnotcallforanyparticularcomments.
DoneatBrussels,30June1993.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
SusanneTIEMANN
OpinionontheCommissionstaffworkingpaperontheproblemofthetimetakentomake
paymentsincommercialtransactions
(93/C249/09)
«
On22December1992,theCommissiondecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCom­
mittee,underArticle198oftheTreatysettinguptheEuropeanEconomicCommunity,on
theCommissionstaffworkingpaperontheproblemofthetimetakentomakepaymentsin
commercialtransactions .
TheSectionforIndustry,Commerce,CraftsandServices,whichwasresponsibleforpreparing
theCommittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon2June1993.TheRapporteur
wasMrPardon.
Atits307thPlenarySession(meetingof30June1993),theEconomicandSocialCommittee
adoptedthefollowingOpinionunanimously .
1.Summary morefirms,particularlywheninequitabletradingcon­
ditionsareimposed.
1.1.Itisuptooccupationalorganizationsandoccu­
pationalchambersinthewidestsense(chambersof
commerce,chambersoftrade,etc.)tocollectanddis­
tributeinformationonpaymentperiodsforeachMem­
berStateandineacheconomicsector.1.5.Onpaymentdelays,theCommissionshould:
continueitsworkinordertohaveadeeperknow
ledgeofcurrentlegislationandpracticeintheMem
berStates; 1.2.Theseinitiativesshouldbesupportedbythe
Euro-Info-Centres whoseaimispreciselytoprovidean
information service.
1.3.Attentionmustbedrawntothetrainingof
enterprisemanagersinvolvedininter-statetrade,and
especiallytotheirin-servicetraining.onthisbasis,makerecommendations totheMem­
berStates,whilerespectingcontractualfreedom,
dealingwith:transparencyofpaymentconditions;
compliancewiththoseconditions;strictapplication
ofagreeddeadlineswithouttheneedfornotifi­
cation;applicationofdelayinterestimmediatelythe
deadlinehaspassed;freedomtofixthatinterestat
alevelcorresponding tocommercialinterestrates;
validityofpenaltyclauses;resorttoarbitration;
introductionofsummaryproceduresforpayment
injunctions ;1.4.Oncontractualpaymentperiods,theCom­
missionandtheMemberStatesmusttakeactiononthe
basisofArticle86oftheTreatyinordertoprevent
unfairexploitationofadominantpositionbyoneor

NoC249/22 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 13.9.93
examinethedifficultiesinvolvedinobtainingin
oneMemberStatetheexecutionofanenforceable
decisiontakenbythelegalauthoritiesofanother
MemberState.3.2.Thereisnodoubtthatsituationspeculiartoa
givenState,andwithinittoagivensector,comeunder
thejurisdictionofthatState,aslongasCommunity
lawisrespected.
1.6.Onpubliccontracts,theCommissionshould
prepareadraftDirective,followingonfromtheearlier
Directivesonthesubjectintendedtoapproximate
MemberStates'legislationconcerningpaymentperiods
anddelayinterest.3.3.AttheCommunitylevel,itisessentiallyamatter
ofinvestigatingwhetherthesituationsdescribedare
harmfultotheoperationoftheinternalmarket(Article
8AoftheTreaty)andwhethertheyareanobstacleto
tradewithinit(Article3(c)oftheTreaty).
2.Introduction
3.4.Paymentperiods,theirextensionandthedispar­
.itieswhichcanbefoundinthismatterbetweenthe
2.1.PaymentdelaysareverycommonintheEuro-variousMemberStatesnodoubtconstituteanobstacle
peanCommunityandcauseseriousproblemsforfirms,totraciewithintheCommonMarket,andaretherefore
whichareconcernedattheriskofthesituationharmfultoitsoperation.
worsening .
3.5.Thissituationcanalsohinderthecreationofan
environmentfavourabletoinitiativeandthedevelop­
mentoffirmsthroughouttheCommunity .2.2.TheCommitteeispleasedthattheCommission
haspromptedadiscussionofthissubject.Itsworking
paperarousedlivelyinterestandwasexaminedin
depth.
3.6.Theproblemisaparticularlysensitiveonefor
sub-contracting firms,whethertheyaresmalland
medium-sizedenterprises (SMEs)orlargefirms.
3.7.Thissituationalsodamagestheopening-upof
publiccontractsintheCommunity,aspecialfield
requiringcarefulexaminationofspecificsolutions(see
point4.5below).2.3.Inthatpaper,theCommissionusestheterm
'paymentperiod'tomean'thetimeelapsedbetweena
givendeliveryofgoodsorperformanceofservicesand
thepaymentforthisdeliveryorperformance ,nomatter
whetherthisperiodisinlinewiththecontractual
agreementornot'(I,page7,firstparagraph).
2.4.However,inmethodological terms,itisadvis­
abletodistinguish :
—paymentperiodsagreedupon('termsofpayment'),
andperiodsinaccordancewiththenormalpractice
ofthesector;
—paymentdelaysinrelationtocontractualobli­
gationsornormalpractice.
2.5.Adistinctionshouldalsobemadeforthecase
ofpubliccontracts,whichisworthdiscussingseparately
(4.5below).3.8.TheCommissionisthereforerightinthinking
thereisaneedtoopenadebateonthisproblemand
tostudytheinitiativeswhichcouldbetakenaspartof
businesspolicytoremedythesituationintheinterests
oftheproperfunctioningoftheinternalmarket.
3.9.Itshouldnothoweverbeforgottenthatthe
Community—byanalogywithfederalstatessuchas
theUSAorCanada—ischaracterized bytheexistence
ofdifferentlegalsystemsintheMemberStates.Itisto
thatendthattheTreatyprovides,notablyin
Articles100andfollowing,forapproximation through
DirectivesofMemberStates'lawstoeliminateany
disturbancetheymaycausetotheoperationofthe
market.3.Findings
3.1.Thehearingsheldandthestudyofthedocu­
mentsprovidedbymanyeconomicsectorsinthevari­
ousmemberStatesshowthatthesituationvariesenor­
mously.
3.1.1.Regardlessofthesizeofenterprises (large,
mediumorsmall,craftindustries),sectors(suchas
construction ,metalwork,foodstuffs,distribution ,etc.)
differnoticeably.
3.1.2.DifferencesfromoneMemberStatetoanother
arejustasgreat,resultingmainlyfromdifferenttrading
practices.3.9.1.However,inthiscasetheseTreatyprovisions
seeminappropriate ,sincetheDirectivesmentionedin
ArticleslOOff.oftheTreatyareintendedonlyto
approximatethelegal,regulatoryandadministrative
provisionsofMemberStateswhichhaveadirecteffect
ontheestablishmentoroperationofthecommonmar­
ket.Thepossibledisturbancesnotedherederivevery
generallyfromdifferenttradingpracticesmuchmore
thanfromprovisionslaiddownbystates.

13.9.93 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC249/23
3.10.Itshouldalsobeborneinmindthatpayment
periodsincommercialtransactionsconstituteaform
ofcredit:inter-firmcreditasopposedtobankcredit.theprospectsforsuccessfulinter-statetradingmaybe
difficulttoachieveowingtodifferingpracticeswithin
theCommunity .Thusmanyoftheinitiativesreferredto
laterinthisOpinionareequallyapplicabletoMember
States.3.10.1.Thedifferencesnotedwithregardtopayment
periodscanresultfrombankingpracticesandfromthe
useofdifferentbankcredittechniques,suchastheuse
ofdiscountcreditappliedtoaspecificcommercial
operation,ratherthanuseoftheoveralloperatingcredit
grantedtothefirm.4.Initiatives
4.1.Itisadvisablefirstlytoexaminethequestionof
informingfirmsinvolvedininter-statetrade.3.10.2.Theentryintoforceon1January1993of
thesecondbankingdirective(89/646/EEC)(*)leadsone
toexpectaconvergenceoffinancingtechniquesand
astrengthening ofcompetitioninthepromotionof
diversifiedfinancinginstruments .4.1.1.Thisinformationmustcoverinparticular:
thepossibility,inagivensectororMemberState,
ofnegotiatingpaymentperiodswhenthecontract
isdrawnup,andrelevantcurrentpractice;3.10.3.Inaddition,thesinglelicencewillfacilitate
the'accompaniment 'offirmsworkinginaMember
Stateotherthantheirown,bytheirowncreditinsti­
tution.
3.10.4.Theimplementation oftheinternalbanking
marketalsoleadsonetoexpectgreaterfacilityfor
monetarytransfers,particularlyintermsofspeedand
cost.theregrettablepracticesfollowedinmattersofpay­
mentinagivensectororMemberState;
therecoverymethodsapplyingintheStateinques­
tion—theircost,durationandresults;
methodsoffinancingcommercialservices(discount
credit,sellercredit,buyercredit,factoring);
creditinsurancepossibilities ;
modalities,costsandtimescaleofpayments;
periodsoflimitation.3.11.Atthepresentstageofthecommonmarket,
creditpolicy,seenasaninstrumentofmonetarypolicy,
isstilltheresponsibilityoftheMemberStates.Con­
siderabledifferencesintheavailabilityandcostofcredit
canresultfromthis.
3.11.1.Completionofeconomicandmonetaryunion
musttendtoreducethedifferenceswhichpersistinthis
field. 4.1.2.ItwouldbeadvisablefortheCommissionto
supportinitiativescontributingtobetterinformation
onthissubject.ThepartwhichtheEuro-Info-Centres
canplayinthisfieldshouldbestressed;theiraimis
preciselytoprovidearegularinformationservice.3.12.Finally,itisremarkablethattheexporting
economicsectors,andparticularlythosebasedinMem­
berStateswhicharethemselveslarge-scaleexporters,
donotingeneralregardthedifferencesinpayment
periodsfromonestateorregiontoanotherasan
obstacletointer-statetrade.Forthemitissimplya
factorwhichtheymustknowaboutandtakeinto
accountintheircommercialstrategy.4.1.3.Thisinformationmustalsobeprovidedby
nationalandEuropeantradeorganizations ,andbythe
occupationalchambers,whatevertheirtitle(chamber
ofcommerce,chamberoftrade,etc.).
4.1.4.Itmustbeprovidedbythecreditinstitutions
concerned.These,bybeingbasedinthebuyer'sstate
ofresidenceorthroughtheircorrespondents inthat
state,mustbeinapositiontoprovidecertaininfor­
mation.3.12.1.Thisshouldnotbeseenasapplyinguniver­
sallytoallsectors.Itisunlikelytobetruefornew
enterprises,especiallySMEs,andallthosewhohave
yettoexperienceinter-statetrade.Manyandvaried
problemsawaitthosewhohaveyettoexperiencetrade
intheSEM,amarketonlysomesixmonthsold.
4.2.Anotherquestiontobeexaminedisthatofthe
trainingofmanagersoffirmsinvolvedininter-state
trade.3.13.TheCommission iscorrectlyconcernedwith
thesituationwithinthewholeCommunity .Those
enteringtheSEMforthefirsttimeneedtoensurethat
theirownnationaloperationsareefficient.Otherwise,4.2.1.Apartfromthepointsalreadymentionedin
4.1.1above,thistrainingmustcoverproblemsofman­
agement(needforsufficientstartingcapital,cashman­
agement,claims,financingtechniquesetc.). (!)OJNoL386,30.12.1989.

NoC249/24 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 13.9.93
mentmustbemadeontheagreeddate,withno
reminderrequired;
thatifpaymentisnotmade,post-maturityinterest
appliesimmediatelyattheagreedrate,orfailing
thatatthehighestcommercialrateapplicableto
thecurrencyofthedebt;
thatthisinterestcanbeincreasedbytheeffectofa
penaltyclause,especiallyifthedebtorstartsaspuri­
ouslegalcaseinordertodelaypayment;
inordertoavoidsuchcasesbeingbrought,access
toarbitrationmustbeencouraged ;
thesetting-upofasummaryprocedureforinjunc­
tiontopay,endingwiththeservingofanenforce­
ablewrit,subjecttoappeal,onthemodelofthe
German'Mahnverfahren '.4.2.2.Thistrainingisofcoursegiventhroughappro­
priateteachingandmustberegularlyupdated,particu­
larlythroughtheactivitiesoftradeorganizationsand
occupationalchambersingeneral.
4.3.Asregardscontractualpaymentperiods,itis
notedthatinacommercialnegotiationitisforthe
partiestoagreeonthegoodsandtheircharacteristics ,
deliveryperiodsandtheprice,thelatternormallyto
includethecostofpaymentperiodsfreelynegotiated
bythem,accordingtotheirowninterests.Inafree
marketeconomy,therefore,paymentperiodsareone
ofthefeaturesofcommercialnegotiation .
4.3.1.However,inordertoensuretransparencyin
conditionsofsale,itisdesirableforthemtobeclearly
indicatedinthecommercialdocuments .
4.3.2.Whenanimbalanceintherelativestrengthof
theparties,resultingfromadominantposition,leads
tounfairpractices,consistingmainlyofimposing
inequitabletradingconditions,itisuptotheCom­
missiontotakeactiononthebasisofarticle86ofthe4.4.1.TheCommission alsoconsidersthat'An
urgentexamination isrequiredofthedifficultiesfaced
bythosewho—despitetheprovisionsoftheBrussels
Conventionof1968—wishtoexecute,inonejurisdic­
tion,acivilorderwhichhasbeenmadeinanother.'
[TheInternalMarketafter1992—MeetingtheChal­
lenge(111/21/1992,No23,p.41)].Treaty.
4.3.3.Thusabnormallylongpaymentperiodscan
beregardedasunfair,dependingontheperishable
natureoftheproductsinvolved.
4.3.4.BearinginmindthedirecteffectofArticle86
oftheTreaty,itisalsouptotherelevantnational
authoritiestotakeactiononthesamebasis.
4.3.5.TheCommission mustensurethatallthe
MemberStatessetuprelevantauthoritiesinthecompe­
titionfield.Inordertodealwithsituationswherethe
effectofanti-competitive behaviourisconfinedtothe
nationalmarket,theCommissionmustensurethatall
theMemberStatesenactnationallawsapplicableto
anyunfairexploitationofadominantposition.
4.4.Asregardspaymentdelays,theCommission
shouldcarryoutanin-depthstudyofcurrentlegislation
inthevariousMemberStatesandifnecessaryrec­
ommend,onthebasisofArticle155oftheTreaty,that
theyensurethefollowing :
—apaymentperiodlaiddown,evenbywording
appearingonthebill,mustberespected,andpay­4.5.Asregardspubliccontracts,theCommission
shouldenvisagepreparingadraftDirectivetofollow
onfromtheearlierDirectivesonpubliccontracts.The
newDirectiveshouldapproximateMemberStates'laws
onpaymentperiodsforworks,suppliesandservices
andoninterestpayableintheeventofpaymentdelays,
subjecttotheparties'righttoagreeotherwise.
4.5.1.Ifthetime-limitthusdeterminedforthepay­
mentisexceeded,thecontractorwouldbefullyentitled
topaymentwithouttheneedforareminder,permonth
ofdelayorpartofamonth,ofinterestcalculatedby
thenumberofdaysofdelay,atthehighestcommercial
rateinthecurrencyofthedebtapplyinginthewhole
oftheperiodinquestion,theratetobeincreasedif
appropriatebyanumberofpointsbywayofapenalty.
4.5.2.Sub-contractors shouldobtainpaymentunder
thesameconditionsasregardspaymentperiodsand
post-maturity interest.
DoneatBrussels,30June1993.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
SusanneTIEMANN

13.9.93 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC249/25
APPENDIX
totheOpinionoftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
v
Thefollowingamendment,whichreceivedatleastaquarterofthevotescast,wasrejectedinthecourseof
thedebate:
'Addthefollowingnewpointsafterpoint3.13:
3.14.Indealingwiththesubjectinitsworkingpaper,theCommissionconfineditselftothepayment
periodsincommercialtransactionsbetweenenterprises.
3.15.However,theCommitteewouldpointoutthatsuchproblemsalsoariseforconsumers,particularly
whenbuyingconsumerdurables.Fortheseapracticehasdevelopedofpriorpaymentfromthreetosix
monthsbeforedelivery,involvinginanumberofcasesseriousrisksiftheenterpriseconcernedshouldgo
bankruptintheinterim.'
Reason
Theconsumerisamarketpartnerinthepurchaseofgoodsandservices,andhencealsoaparticipantin
commercialtransactions .Inastudyoftheproblemsofpaymentperiods,theconsumers'positionmust,in
ourview,betakenintoaccount.NowthattheCommissionseekstostimulatewide-rangingdiscussion
throughaGreenPaper,itisimportanttodrawattentiontopossiblegapsintheanalysis.
vottng
For:40,against:52,abstentions :8.
OpinionontheproposalforaCouncilRegulation (EEC)providingforanofferofcompen­
sationtocertainproducersofmilkormilkproductstemporarilypreventedfromcarrying
ontheirtrade(*)
(93/C249/10)
On11June1993theCouncildecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCommittee,
underArticle198oftheTreatyestablishingtheEuropeanEconomicCommunity,onthe
abovementioned proposal.
TheEconomicandSocialCommitteedecidedtoappointMrPricoloasRapporteur-General
foritsOpinion.
Atits307thPlenarySessionon30June1993,theEconomicandSocialCommitteeunani­
mouslyadoptedthefollowingOpinion.
1.Introduction
1.1.CouncilRegulation856/84/EECof31March
1984establishedaquotasystemformilkproduction .
Whentheoverallnationalmilkquotaslaiddowninthe
Regulationweresharedoutamongindividualpro­
ducersanddairies,the'referencequantity'didnotapply
toproducerswhohadundertaken—underthetermsoftheearlierCouncilRegulation1078/77/EECof17May
1977—eithernottomarketmilkortoconverttomeat
productionforaperiodoffiveandfouryearsrespect­
ively.
1.2.Becausetheyhadnotsoldmilkinthe'reference
year'(i.e.theyear—generally1981—usedforcalculat­
ingtheproductiontowhichthequotaswouldapply),
these'SLOM'producerswereconsideredasnotbeing
presentonthemarketandthusnoteligibleforindivid­ HOJNoC157,9.6.1993,p.11.