On May 5, 2015, the Council of the European Union issued a press release stating it had reached a tentative agreement with the European Parliament on a draft directive that would further the development of electronic payments in the EU market. The new directive will incorporate and repeal the existing Payment Services Directive to create a new framework for emerging and innovative payment services, including internet and mobile payments, providing a more secure and harmonized environment for payments. Once the full text is finalized, the draft directive will need to be confirmed by the Council, submitted to the European Parliament for a vote and then to the Council for adoption. Once adopted, member states will have two years to transpose the directive into national law.
The press release is available at: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2015/05/05-payment-services-agreement-on-new-rules/.
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