Late Payment: European Parliament sends strong SME-friendly signal with clear support of Thun report

This week, during the last Plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, MEPs voted on the Report by MEP Róża Thun und Hohenstein (Renew, Poland) on the Late Payment Regulation. The Report, which had been previously already approved in the IMCO Committee, was approved with a wide majority of 459 votes in favour, 96 against and 54 abstentions, out of 609 MEPs present.

MEPs voted against a series of amendments tabled in Plenary, the majority of which were seeking to revert the SME-friendly orientation of the Commission’s legislative proposal. Ahead of the vote EBC and its construction SMEs thus called upon MEPs to reject those amendments and support the compromises reached in IMCO.

EBC welcomes the adoption of the Report by the European Parliament, which sends a positive message to SMEs at the closure of the current EU legislature. Despite intense lobbying by representatives of large companies against the Commission’s Proposal and the IMCO Report, MEPs across many political groups have decided to send a clear message against late payments and abusive payment behaviour.

EBC considers this development an important step forward to both relieve and empower SMEs, and especially the majority of small companies in the construction value chain.

With this vote marking the conclusion of the first stage of the legislative process in the European Parliament, Member States are now expected to continue discussions on this file in the Council, before trilogues can begin after the European elections.

EBC thus calls upon Member States to support the major reforms brought forward by the Late Payment Regulation proposal and the EP Report, while fine-tuning elements to further streamline this important reform for SMEs, the construction sector, and the entire EU economy.