CEC welcomes the exception to the thirty days payment cap introduced in the EP report on the Late Payment Regulation

On 24th of April the European Parliament voted the report of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) Committee on the Late payment Regulation proposal [2023/0083(COD)]

The file will be followed up by the new Parliament after the European elections on 6-9 June.

We welcome the EP’s decision to introduce an exception to the 30 days’ payment cap for “slow-moving goods and seasonal goods”. Footwear companies have long-standing commercial procedures which allow long payment periods to respond to the long period between the moment the retailer buys the product until the final product is sold to the consumer.

The European Footwear industry is composed by more than 98% of SMEs. These actors, already shaken and pushed to the limit by the heath, economic and political crises, do not have sufficient financial strength to handle the imposed 30 days payment in the long run. In this sense, if industrial practices the footwear sector are not respected, the sector will collapse in Europe.

The Report and related amendments can be found here: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/plenary/en/all-reports.html?orderBy=reference