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Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

EU Payment Observatory

The Observatory monitors trends and developments on payment performance and behaviour in commercial transactions in the EU. It collects, analyses and disseminates data and provides a repository of relevant initiatives and policy documents.

Introduction

Late payments in commercial transactions have multiple damaging effects, particularly amongst SMEs, causing one out of four bankruptcies in the European Union. The Late Payment Directive, which is currently under review, aims to address this issue and improve B2B and G2B payment culture. One of the main problems identified since its adoption in 2011 is the lack of monitoring tools, which has hampered a more effective implementation of the Directive and its enforcement.

The EU Observatory of Payments in Commercial Transactions (EU Payment Observatory) purpose is to fill that gap.

What are our objectives?

forum

Informal group that gives operational support and advice to the EU Payment Observatory.

reprository

Resource library of initiatives and policy documents on payment performance in the European Economic Area and the UK.

analysis

Provides all analytical documents produced by the Observatory including Thematic and Annual Reports.

news

Our newsletter with the latest news and publications on payment performance and the work of the Observatory.

mapper

A data visualization of payment performance in commercial transactions in the European Economic Area (EEA)

event

Details and recordings of the main events of the Observatory including webinars and annual event.

Legal framework

Late Payments are addressed at European level by the Directive 2011/7/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 on combating late payment in commercial transactions. For further information please see the Late Payment Directive dedicated webpage.

In September 2023 the European Commission proposed a Regulation on combatting late payments. 

Contact Us

EISMEA-SMP-COSME-LATE-PAYMENTatec [dot] europa [dot] eu (Contact Us)

Newsletter oberrvatory
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