European Parliament 5 April 2002, WRITTEN QUESTION P-1018/02 by Philip Bradbourn (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Water quality assessment.

In the context of payments it is important to make a distinction between strictly national transactions and those which have a cross-border dimension. A payment using a national cheque for € 100 within France entails virtually no charges. A cross-border payment in euros of the same amount would incur charges of over € 25. The beneficiary is in serious danger of receiving less than € 75 in payment.