What is European Account Preservation Order?

Imagine the scenario: You have won a hard-fought commercial battle. The court has ruled in your favor, or perhaps you have a legitimate claim pending. But while you celebrate the legal victory, your debtor is quietly moving their capital across borders, clicking a button to transfer funds from Paris to Rome, or Berlin to Madrid. By the time you navigate the local bureaucracy of a foreign court to seize those assets, the accounts are empty.

This was the nightmare of European creditors for decades—a fragmented landscape where national borders acted as shields for elusive debtors.

Enter the European Account Preservation Order (EAPO). Introduced by Regulation (EU) No 655/2014, this legal instrument is not just a procedural update; it is a “silver bullet” for cross-border debt recovery. It transforms a complex, multi-jurisdictional hurdle into a single, swift strike that freezes assets before a debtor even knows they are being targeted.

The Power of the Procedure: Three Key Advantages

The EAPO was designed with a singular focus: efficiency. It strips away the red tape that previously allowed debtors to outrun their obligations.

1. The Element of Surprise (Ex Parte) The most mesmerizing feature of the EAPO is its stealth. Unlike many legal procedures that require notifying the other party, the EAPO is strictly ex parte. The debtor is not informed of the application until the bank has already frozen their funds. This “surprise effect” effectively eliminates the risk of the debtor moving, concealing, or dissipating assets the moment they smell legal trouble.

2. The Universal Key (No Exequatur) Historically, a court order from one country often needed a “declaration of enforceability” (exequatur) to be recognized in another. The EAPO abolishes this delay. An order issued by a court in one Member State is automatically recognized and enforceable in another without any special procedure. It acts as a universal key, unlocking the banking systems of participating nations instantly.

3. The Detective Mechanism What if you know your debtor has money in a specific country (e.g., France) but you don’t know the bank’s name or the IBAN? The EAPO Regulation includes a powerful mechanism allowing the court to request account information from the designated authorities in that Member State. It turns the court into an active partner in locating the assets, bridging the information gap that often paralyzes creditors.

A Continent-Wide Shield: Scope and Applicability

The EAPO is a true instrument of European integration, designed to make the Single Market a safer place to do business.

• Broad Geographical Reach: The procedure applies to all European Union Member States with the sole exception of Denmark. Whether your debtor’s assets are sitting in an Irish tech hub, a German industrial bank, or a Cypriot investment account, the EAPO can reach them.
• The Cross-Border Requirement: It is important to note that this tool is exclusive to cross-border cases. It applies when the bank account is in a different Member State than the court seized or the creditor’s domicile. It is not for purely domestic disputes (e.g., a French creditor suing a French debtor with French accounts), but rather for the complex international web where money usually hides.
• Civil and Commercial Focus: The order covers pecuniary claims in civil and commercial matters, making it the ideal tool for businesses, suppliers, and individuals chasing unpaid invoices or damages.
• No Need for the Bailiff: If you have a reasonable monetary claim, you do not need to start a separate enforcement procedure at the bailiff in debtor’s residence place. Also, this is very useful because creditors residence place bailiff will not be able be able to freeze assets sitting in foreign financial institution account.

The European Account Preservation Order is more than a regulation; it is a message to the market that borders are no longer safe havens for bad debt. It empowers creditors with a fast, cost-effective, and surprisingly powerful tool to secure what is rightfully theirs, ensuring that a legal victory translates into actual financial recovery.

If you need the evaluation of EAPO application, please get in touch with us.