EU Court advises to rule against payment cards fees | EurActiv

EU Court advises to rule against payment cards fees | EurActiv

A top legal official in the European Court of
Justice yesterday (30 January) advised the EU judges to reject an appeal
made by MasterCard over the fees it charges on payment transactions.

The fees, best known by their acronym
MIFs (multilateral interchange fees), have been the object of a legal
dispute between the EU authorities and the major payment cards companies
(MasterCard and Visa).

Yesterday's opinion given by the advocate general of the ECJ, Paolo
Mengozzi, is the latest episode of a saga that has run since 2007 and is
expected to end by autumn at the latest. The Court is to issue its
definitive decision between April and September 2014.

Not big surprises are expected. Over the years, the EU institutions
have shown a common front against MIFs, accused of being a hidden "tax
on consumption" by Neelie Kroes, the EU antitrust commissioner who
started the fight more than six years ago, before passing the baton to
the current competition commissioner, Joaquin Almunia.

MasterCard has hit back at the Commission, but its legal recourse was
rejected by the EU tribunal in 2012. The payment card group has issued a
second appeal against the tribunal.

Yesterday, the advocate general confirmed the validity of the first
ruling stating that "the tribunal sufficiently analysed the effects of
MIFs on competition, and has correctly explained why MIFs distort
competition".

The advocate general's opinion is not binding, but in most cases the
ECJ's decisions are close to the advocate general's position.

“The consumer will be the big loser if this opinion is followed by
the Court," Javier Perez, president of MasterCard Europe, said in a
statement.