Agreement on recovery of cross-border debt

Three years after it was proposed, the directive on recovery of cross-border debts was approved by the member states' justice ministers, on 6 December. The goal is to facilitate debt recovery by introducing the possibility of a surprise effect with payment orders, sent to debtors without warning, and a wider definition of cross-border cases. Above all the text should benefit SMEs, which pay for 2.6% - or ?600 million - of total European business lost every year, according to Commission…