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The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) as envisioned by policy-makers including EU governments, the European Commission, the ECOFIN and the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, is crucial to the completion of the internal market and the monetary union. SEPA is the area where all market participants can make euro payments under the same basic conditions, rights and obligations, regardless of their location. SEPA covers the European Economic Area plus Switzerland and Monaco. SEPA payment instruments are designed to eventually replace national euro payment instruments existing today. The European banking industry cooperating in the European Payments Council (EPC) (1) supports the SEPA vision and has delivered SEPA schemes for credit transfers and direct debits based on global ISO standards. For payment cards, a SEPA Cards Framework has also been agreed. Moving forward, the focus must be on accelerating migration to the new euro payment instruments. At this point, the majority of concerned parties share the view that one or several end dates for migration to SEPA services have to be defined if SEPA momentum and planning security for all stakeholders are to be ensured. The European Central Bank (ECB) observes that “corporations and public administrations (...) still take a cautious approach” towards SEPA implementation. To break that circle of “wait and see”, states the ECB, a migration end date from which point onwards only the European payment instruments will exist is needed” (2). The European Parliament supports this position and called on the European Commission to set a “clear, appropriate and binding end date, which date should not be later than 31 December 2012, for migrating to SEPA products” (3). The European Commission plans to publish its recommendations on this matter by end 2009 taking into consideration the feedback of a related consultation open to everyone. In the view of the EPC there should be one migration end date for both SEPA Credit Transfer and SEPA Direct Debit at European level. An individual community within the 16 euro countries may set an earlier end date for either or both schemes if it so wishes. In setting a date, consideration should be given to the normal investment cycle of 3 to 5 years. Whenever a current non-euro zone SEPA country joins the euro zone, it should be free to determine its own migration end date, but by the latest, 5 years after the adoption of the euro. The EPC defines end date as the latest date after which services for sending and receiving euro payments based on current domestic credit transfer and direct debit schemes are no longer available to customers. Mandating an EU-wide end date requires EU regulation. Such a regulation should oblige customers to use SEPA payment services rather than euro payment services based on the current national schemes, thereby not leaving migration responsibility only to the banking sector.
What the Chiefs Say is a new public affairs platform designed for senior executives from leading organizations to voice their policies and priorities. In this first issue, business leaders present their expectations and concerns on the direction of European policymaking to the incoming European Commission and the new European Parliament.
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Over 150 think tanks and universities across Europe contribute authors and ideas to Europe’s World. This section showcases their own publications and reports and is also a bulletin board for their upcoming events.
What do YOU think are the key policy problems that Europe must resolve? What ideas need a Europe-wide airing? This section is open to your contributions.