Money and monetary claims
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This Chapter is on EU legislation, procedures, fees and forms regarding financial issues on money and monetary claims.

EU law on civil and commercial litigation can be used in cases which have a cross-border element to claim money owed, and enforce payment orders or insolvency.


Cross-border debt recovery


If you or your business is owed money by a company based in another EU country, the Courts can order that the funds in the other company's bank account are frozen.
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When can it be used?

You can take advantage of this rule for any cross-border cases, i.e. when the ordering court, or your business (in this case, the creditor) is based in a different EU country than where the debtor holds their bank account.

The procedure is known as the European Account Preservation Order (EAPO) and its aim is to make EU debt recovery quicker and easier.

You won't need to inform the debtor in advance: this ensures that they don't move, hide or spend the funds held in their account before you can reclaim money owed to you.

In which countries does it apply?

You can apply for an EAPO in any EU country except Denmark.

How to apply?

You can apply using the online form. Any relevant supporting documents should be sent with your application.

Contesting an EAPO
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If you are the debtor and are not in agreement with the EAPO issued against you, you can challenge the decision by filling out the remedy application form (form VII).
Both parties can appeal the remedy decision using the remedy appeal form (form IX).


European payment order
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Court fees
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The European Payment Order is a simplified procedure for cross-border monetary claims which are uncontested by the defendant, based on standard forms
​Find all the information concerning fees, available means to pay, post-payment actions, etc. when using the European Payment Order procedure in each Member State.
Standard forms have been drawn up for the European Payment Order and are available here in all languages. This link will also provide more information about which courts can issue a European Payment Order and where the application forms should be sent.
  1. To start the procedure, Form A must be filled in, giving all the details of the parties and the nature and amount of the claim. The court will examine the application, and if the form is correctly filled in, the court should issue the European Payment Order within 30 days.
  2. The European Payment Order must then be served on the defendant by the court. S/he can either pay the amount of the claim, or contest it. S/he has 30 days to lodge any statement of opposition to the European Payment Order. If this happens, the case may, subject to a choice of the claimant, either be transferred to the normal civil law courts to be dealt with under national law; or dealt with in accordance with a European Small Claims Procedure, or discontinued.
  3. If there is no statement of opposition by the defendant, the European Payment Order will become automatically enforceable.
  4. A copy of the European Payment Order, and if necessary a translation, must be sent to the enforcement authorities of the Member State where it needs to be enforced. Enforcement takes place in accordance with the national rules and procedures of the Member State where the European Payment Order is being enforced. For details on the enforcement, please consult the relevant section.

Please note that the guide does not reflect two amendments that entered into force on 14 July 2017. The first amendment adds an option of continuation of the proceedings in a case of lodging a statement of opposition in accordance with the rules of Regulation (EC) 861/2007 establishing a European Small Claims Procedure. The second amendment extends the application of the European Small Claims Procedure to claims of a value up to 5000 euro.

For further information in this regard please consult the new text of Article 17 of the Regulation as well as Article 2 of Regulation (EC) 861/2007, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2015/2421.

Related link
Please note that there are also national order for payment procedures. You can obtain information about such national procedures by selecting the relevant country:
 
BE, BG, CZ, DK, DE EE, IE, EL, ES, FR, HR, IT, CY, LV, LT, LU, HU, MT, NL, AT, PL, PT, RO, SI, SK, FI, SE
You will find all the information concerning fees, available means to pay, post-payment actions, etc. by selecting one country below:
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BE,  BG, CZ, DK, DE, EE, IE, EL, ES, FR, HR, IT, CY, LV, LT, LU, HU, MT, NL, AT, PL, PT, RO, SI, SK, FI, SE​
Small claims
Court fees
The European Small Claims procedure is designed to simplify and speed up cross-border claims of up to €5000.
​Find all the information concerning fees, available means to pay, post-payment actions, etc. when using the European Payment Order procedure in each Member State.
The European Small Claims Procedure is available to litigants as an alternative to the procedures existing under the laws of the Member States.

A judgment given in the European Small Claims Procedure is recognized and enforceable in another Member State without the need for a declaration of enforceability and without any possibility of opposing its recognition.

Standard forms have been drawn up for the Small Claims procedure and are available here in all languages. To start the procedure, "Form A" must be filled in. Any relevant supporting documents, such as receipts, invoices, etc. should be attached to the form.
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  1. Form A must be sent to the court that has the jurisdiction. Once the court receives the application form it must fill in its part of the "Answer Form".
  2. Within 14 days of receiving the application form, the court should serve a copy of it, along with the Answer Form, on the defendant.
  3. The defendant has 30 days to reply, by filling in his or her part of the Answer Form. The court must send a copy of any reply to the plaintiff within 14 days.
  4. Within 30 days of receiving the defendant's answer (if any) the court must either give a judgment on the small claim, or request further details in writing from either party, or summon the parties to an oral hearing. If there is an oral hearing, it is not necessary to be represented by a lawyer and if the court has appropriate equipment the hearing should be carried out through videoconference or teleconference.
  5. With the certificate issued by the court (which might need to be translated into the language of the other Member State), and a copy of the judgment, the judgment is enforceable in all the other Member States of the European Union, without any further formalities. The only reason that enforcement in another Member State can be refused is if it is irreconcilable with another judgment in the other Member State between the same parties.
  6. Enforcement takes place in accordance with the national rules and procedures of the Member State where the judgment is being enforced.

 Related links
Please select the relevant country to obtain detailed national information.
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BE, BG, CZ, DK, DE, EE, IE, EL, ES, FR, HR, IT, CY, LV, LT, LU, HU, MT, NL, AT, PL, PT, RO, SI, SK, FI, SE
Please note the applicable court fees. You will find all the information concerning fees, available means to pay, post-payment actions, etc. by selecting one country listed below:

 
BE, BG, CZ, DK, DE, EE, IE, EL, ES, FR, HR, IT, CY, LV, LT, LU, HU, MT, NL, AT, PL, PT, RO, SI, SK, FI, SE