WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3437/97 by Cristiana MUSCARDINI to the Commission. Detention on remand
C 134/164 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 30. 4. 98 Answer given by Mr Papoutsis on behalf of the Commission (15 December 1997) Although usury is a recognised phenomenon in the area of consumer credit, it is not generally considered to be a problem which affects firms. Owners and managers of businesses are deemed to be sophisticated economic operators who understand and accept the obligations into which they enter when taking out credit. Moreover, they benefit from a competitive market, especially now that interest rates and economic conditions have been generally stable for some time. They can usually change credit supplier if they are dissatisfied with the service they are receiving. The interest rates paid by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for their credit typically fall in the range of 2% to 5% above the base lending rate and are thus far lower than the rates which typically characterise cases of usury. Rates may, however, be higher under certain circumstances, usually when the borrower is considered more risky than average and the lender therefore adds a risk premium to the normal lending rate. This is entirely normal business practice and partly reflects the increasing sophistication and accuracy of the risk assessment systems used by lenders. It is also true that, in some southern Member States, margins on lending to firms are higher than the European average, but this is largely an historical phenomenon and reflects local financing practices. The Commission is committed to improving access to finance for Europe’s SMEs, as demonstrated by its support for the second round table of bankers and SMEs, which published its final report in February 1997. This initiative, which brought together representatives from both banks and European SME organisations over a period of eighteen months, examined in considerable detail many of the issues involved in SME financing. The problem of usury, however, was not mentioned at any time and has not been brought to the Commission’s attention as a major concern for the members of SME representative organisations. For this reason, the Commission does not feel that it is appropriate or necessary either to establish a permanent observatory on usury or to prepare a directive on the subject. It is, nonetheless, committed to continuing its efforts to facilitate SMEs’ access to the many established sources of finance and, to this effect, will be launching a third round table of bankers and SMEs in 1998 to build on the work of its predecessors. (98/C 134/223) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3437/97 by Cristiana Muscardini (NI) to the Commission (31 October 1997) Subject: Detention on remand The Strasbourg-based European Commission of Human Rights is critical of the excessively long detention on remand in the Contrada case, which, according to its understanding, violates Article 5(3) of the European Convention on Human Rights. Protracted detention on remand not only damages individual rights, but also, in practice, slows down trials and the related investigations. Will the Commission set up a committee of inquiry to identify the European countries where the length of detention on remand exceeds the time laid down in the European Convention on Human Rights, which has been signed by the Member States? Answer given by Ms Gradin on behalf of the Commission (15 December 1997) The Commission has no power to investigate alleged violations of the European Convention on Human Rights in the Member States when the legislation in question or the actions of the national authorities relate to matters not covered by Community law. The period of detention on remand in the Member States is such a matter