Cheaper euro transfers: Council agrees its negotiating stance

Met dank overgenomen van Bulgaars voorzitterschap Europese Unie 1e helft 2018 (Bulgaars voorzitterschap) i, gepubliceerd op woensdag 27 juni 2018.

On 27 June 2018, EU ambassadors agreed the Council's negotiating stance on the Commission's proposal to make cross-border payments in euros cheaper across the EU. They asked the presidency to start negotiations with the European Parliament as soon as the Parliament is ready to negotiate.

"For a well-functioning single market, all consumers and businesses should have access to the same benefits when it comes to payments in euros. Today we agreed that a euro transfer should never be subject to a disproportionately high fee, whether or not the consumer is based in the euro area."

Vladislav Goranov, minister for finance of Bulgaria, which currently holds the Council presidency

Since 2009, cross-border and national transactions in euros cost the same price in the euro-area. However, cross-border payments in euros from non-euro countries are subject to high fees.

Read the full press release on the website of the Council of the European Union.