Bolkestein speech on Payments and Confidence
16 September 2003
In his opening address at the European Commission Conference “Payments and Confidence”, Mr Bolkestein said that the Commission is preparing a new legal framework for payments in the internal market, which will remove legal and technical barriers to an EU Single Payment Area. Therefore, the Commission will shortly issue a Communication to consult all stakeholders on whether new legal provisions are needed to:
Introduce a common framework for the evaluation of security products and components;
Further improve the security of information networks;
Make providers liable towards users if a payment network breaks down; and
Remove legal or technical barriers hampering a wider use of electronic signatures in payments.
The Commission will also publish a report on the Fraud Prevention Action Plan 2001-2003, considering which initiatives should be maintained or discontinued.
“A high priority should be the full migration to chip cards in the EU within a reasonable timeframe.
“Another important objective should be transparency. The 'right' information on the security of a given electronic payment is essential for users' confidence.
“Furthermore, it is important to make security evaluation procedures more transparent. Ideally, banks and merchants should know to what extent one product is more secure than another. Technology vendors and users should get more detailed information about the testing carried out under certification procedures.
Full speech
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