The Commissioner for the Internal Market has not ruled out bringing in legislation to ensure the implementation of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA).
Michel Barnier was answering a question by British MEP Sharon Bowles, chair of the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, on 8 March 2010.
SEPA was introduced in 2008, and aims to remove barriers on electronic payments in the Eurozone.
Under SEPA, people in the Eurozone will be able to make bank transfers to any other account in the zone as if it were a domestic payment, removing existing charges.
Ms Bowles wanted to know why it was taking so long to be implemented by many of the EU's banks, saying that "banks cannot have it all their own way".
She also told MEPs that the full introduction of SEPA would crack down on cross-border fraud.
Commissioner Barnier assured her that the Commission were investigating delays and would conclude their investigations by Spring 2011.
He also confirmed that laws to ensure full implementation were a possible outcome.
© European Parliament, BBC
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