Presentation of the 2023 Annual Report – The State of late payments in the EU

11 Mar Presentation of the 2023 Annual Report – The State of late payments in the EU

The Payment observatory has published the 2023 Annual Report – The State of late payments in the EU.

As member of the Observatory, UETR stresses how late payment in the EU is having a profound and detrimental effects on road transport SMEs, exerting a significant strain on their operational efficiency and financial stability. We need a robust legislative framework and data collection is key. The revision of the Directive represents a significant opportunity to address and alleviate some of the persistent challenges faced by small businesses. To fully realize these opportunities, it is essential that the regulation is well-designed, effectively enforced, and accompanied by appropriate support mechanisms. Additionally, stakeholder education and awareness campaigns can play a vital role in ensuring the successful implementation of the regulation.

More specifically, UETR supports a strict payment period of 30 days since the receipt of goods or the provision of services and not from the date of the receipt of the invoice.

Moreover, Member States with stricter and road transport-specific rules already into force must be able to continue applying them (e.g. heavy fines, listing of non-payers and anonymous reporting of bad payers to avoid business retaliation and reprisals) .