Debt recovery made faster, cheaper and more efficient

New rules are now in force supporting businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to recover debt from debtors in other EU countries.

About €600 million are lost every year due to long and costly legal procedures preventing companies to recover money they are owed outside their home country. The European Account Preservation Order (EAPO) helps companies by offering them a simple and cost-effective way to block funds that are owed.

European Commissioner for Justice and Consumers Vera Jourova stated: “As a former entrepreneur, I know that unpaid bills can seriously affect the bottom line of a company. Particularly small businesses often cannot afford the legal support necessary to bring back the money they are owed. Thanks to the European Account Preservation Order, businesses and citizens will be able to recover millions in cross-border debts by requesting that the amount owed to them is blocked on the debtor’s bank accounts.”

Currently a business that is owed money from a business partner in another EU country has to request the blocking of the amount by a court in the business partner’s member state according to the local rules and procedures. This...