How to claim a debt to a company in the European Union?

The opening of international trade brings with it a series of measures for companies to claim a debt within the European Union, which allows the protection of all the factors that influence and invest in carrying out commercial activities and international trading. The European Community has established a series of reciprocal regulations for the entire European Union, such is the case, for example, of the contracting of debts between Spanish and Community companies.

What European regulations regulate the claim of debts contracted in Spain against a company of the European Union?

In order for the obligations to be fulfilled in the most transparent manner possible and in accordance with due diligence, REGULATION (EC) No. 1896/2006 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL has been promulgated in the European Union. A EUROPEAN MONITORING PROCESS IS ESTABLISHED, which is a community legislative instrument that seeks to address the right that creditor companies have to enforce obligations-debts that have been agreed with other companies, which do not belong to the same country of community.

Its main objective is to maintain and develop an area of ​​freedom, security and justice in which the free movement of people is guaranteed. In order to gradually establish said space, it is therefore necessary to adopt measures in the field of judicial cooperation in civil matters with repercussions beyond the borders that are necessary for the proper functioning of the internal market. 

For our specialist debt claim lawyers, it is vitally important for legislators to improve and ensure the "rapid and efficient collection of outstanding credits that are not the subject of legal controversy for economic operators in the European Union." Default is one of the main causes of insolvency that puts the survival of companies, particularly small and medium-sized companies, in great danger, followed by the loss of a large number of jobs.

For this purpose, the regulation, Article 4, specifies the European order for payment procedure:

"The European payment order process is established for the collection of pecuniary credits, of a determined amount, due and payable on the date the request for a European order for payment is presented."

It must be done through a form that must fill out the extremes of the European regulations, stipulated in article 7 of the regulations:

The demand for a European order for payment shall be submitted in "form A.

What should the debt claim lawsuit contain?

In the request for payment, the following must be indicated: 

1. a) The names and addresses of the parties and, if applicable, their representatives, as well as the jurisdictional body before which the petition has been submitted.
2. b) The amount of the debt, including the principal and, where appropriate, the interest, the contractual penalties and the costs.
3. c) Circumstances invoked as the basis of the debt and, where appropriate, of the interests claimed.
4. d) Allegation of the means of proof that prove the debt.
5. e) The criteria of judicial competence. 

"The demand for a debt claim shall be submitted on paper or through any other means of communication, including electronic support, accepted by the Member State of origin and available in the court of origin." 

The claim must bear the signature of the plaintiff or, if applicable, his representative. When the application has been submitted by electronic means, it must be signed in accordance with article 2, paragraph 2, of Directive 1999/93 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, of December 13, 1999, by the establishing a community framework for electronic signatures.

The competent court will review the petition to verify that the provisions of the law are fulfilled, and if the petition has well-founded elements on the aspirations of the plaintiff.

What if it doesn't meet the requirements, will it be scrapped?

As established by Forcam Abogados, in the event that the requirements are not met, the court - court - will grant the plaintiff the possibility of completing or rectifying the claim. It could also be manifestly unfounded or inadmissible.

What would be the next step, once the extremes of the European regulations are met?

Once the aforementioned requirements have been fulfilled, the court will issue a European order for payment as soon as possible and, as a general rule, within 30 days from the date of submission of the request. 

In the European order for payment, the defendant will be informed: 

• pay the plaintiff the amount indicated in the request or Oppose the request by submitting, before the court of origin, a written opposition, sent within 30 days from the notification of the request.

What does the European order for payment contain?

There the defendant will be informed that:

• The request was issued solely on the basis of the information provided by the plaintiff, without it having been verified by the court.
• The request will become enforceable unless a statement of opposition is submitted to the court in accordance with the provisions of article 16.
• In the event that a statement of opposition is filed, the process will continue before the jurisdictional bodies of the Member State of origin, in accordance with the rules of the corresponding ordinary civil process.