National information and online forms concerning Regulation No. 655/2014.
Regulation (EU) No 655/2014 on the European Account Preservation Order (EAPO) makes it easier to recover debt in the EU.
It creates a new Union procedure for freezing funds held in a bank account in another EU country.
It can be used in civil and commercial cases.
The regulation applies in all EU countries – except Denmark and the UK.
This means that:
- creditors based in Denmark or the UK can’t apply for an EAPO
- you can’t apply for an EAPO on a Danish or UK bank account.
You can only use the EAPO in cross-border cases. The procedure may be used in cross-border cases only, whereby the court carrying out the procedure or the country of domicile of the creditor must be in a different Member State than the one in which the debtor's account is maintained.
The regulation sets out the procedure for obtaining/enforcing an EAPO.
How to apply
To start the procedure, fill in the EAPO application form. You should attach any relevant supporting documents.
You’ll find all the forms you need below. You can download them or fill them in online.
You can also save and download your draft version.
There are 9 EAPO forms in total – the content of the forms is set out in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1823.
Can debtors challenge an EAPO?
Yes. As the EAPO is issued without the debtor being heard, the Regulation offers the debtor a number of ‘remedies’. These are possible grounds to contest the EAPO or how it’s enforced.
To apply for a remedy, fill in the remedy application form (form VII).
Both parties can appeal the remedy decision using the remedy appeal form (form IX).
You can complete these forms online by clicking one of the links below. If you have already started a form and saved a draft, you can upload it using the "Load draft" button.
As of 1 February 2020, the United Kingdom is no longer an EU Member State. However, under the Withdrawal Agreement, EU law shall apply to and in the United Kingdom during the transition period. The United Kingdom can be selected in forms until the end of the transition period, 31 December 2020.
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Last update : 19/02/2019