Well just who is undermining the Lisbon agenda?

Written by Diana Wallis on Thu 8th Jun 2006

The week started with a breakfast meeting about 'late payments'. By that I do not mean you and I missing paying our credit card bill, but late payments to firms, usually by governments who have contracted with them. Governments are the worst payers, these very governments who have begrudgingly signed up to the EU Late Payments Directive then can't keep to it.

Some of the figures quoted at the Intrum Justitia event were horrific over 400 days or even one example from Italy of 750 days, what small enterprise can be expected to survive that sort of treatment? Keeping to payments terms alone would be one huge contribution that EU governments could make to achieving the Lisbon agenda.

The Late Payment Directive of 2000 is currently the subject of review. Perhaps, a major publicity drive to make sure everyone knows about it and their rights under it might be a good idea along with a fierce name and shame campaign against governments and other authorities who are the worst offenders. Indirectly the EU might come out of it with some positive publicity for supporting the small guy.

Linked to this of course is the subject of what is in the contract between two commercial parties, any contract should be covered by the Directive, but what was frustrating was that Commissioner Verheugen's cabinet dealing with Enterprise and late payments had not twigged that maybe they should be taking an interest in the European Contract Law Project going on in DG Sanco (the Commission's consumer protection division). This latter project is not just a consumer affair and here is a prime example of the need to introduce some equality of bargaining power into a Business to Business relationship. It is clearly not just consumers that need help at an EU level.

Any examples of outrageous late payments by government or big corporations: let us know!

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To find out more about the work of Intrum Justitia on late payments: http://www.intrum.com/625_showrelease_ENG_R.asp?releaseId=215015