The European Account Preservation Order

Every year an estimated €55 billion in intra-EU trade is written off in bad debts. A significant part of this is theoretically recoverable from debtors' bank accounts. But with court judgments on the merits potentially taking several years, creditors have looked to provisional measures such as preservation orders to freeze a debtor's bank account.  Where there is a cross-border element, such orders have faced significant enforcement problems. They are currently used less and with a lower success rate than orders used purely at domestic level.  Although the Brussels I Regulation ensures recognition of judgments of courts in other Member States, and its proposed reform would improve their enforceability, it does not address actual enforcement. There have therefore been consistent calls for an independent EU instrument addressing preservation orders.  Following a number of studies, a public consultation and an impact assessment which highlighted key issues as well as wide variations in Member State procedures, the Commission presented a proposal for a European Account Preservation Order in July 2011. The EP, which has called for a proposal on more than one occasion, will consider the text in the coming months.