NEW “EUROPEAN ACCOUNT PRESERVATION ORDER” PROCEDURE

The regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a European Account Preservation Order procedure to facilitate cross-border debt recovery in civil and commercial matters, is applicable from 18 January 2017. This procedure enables the creditors to obtain a ‘European Account Preservation Order’, which prevents the subsequent enforcement of the creditor’s claim from being jeopardised through the transfer or withdrawal of funds held by the debtor or on his behalf in a bank account maintained in a Member State, up to the amount specified in the preservation order. The regulation applies to pecuniary claims in civil and commercial matters in cross-border cases.

The preservation order shall be available to the creditor before the creditor initiates proceedings in a Member State against the debtor on the substance of the matter, or at any stage during such proceedings up until issuing the judgment or the approval or conclusion of a court settlement, or even after the creditor has obtained in a Member State a judgment, court settlement or authentic instrument which requires the debtor to pay the creditor’s claim. Applications for a preservation order shall be lodged by using a form including information such as the details concerning the creditor, the debtor and the amount for which the preservation order is sought.