Aurore Lalucq, a French MEP from the Socialists and Democrats group, has asked the European Commission to explain what concrete steps it will take to address shortcomings in the implementation of the Interchange Fee Regulation (IFR), following a critical 2024 report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA). In a written parliamentary question submitted on 17 June 2026, Lalucq seeks a timeline for corrective measures and calls for a new, independent evaluation of the regulation's application across all Member States.
The IFR, adopted in 2015, caps interchange fees for card-based payment transactions to reduce costs for merchants. The ECA's 2024 special report found that the Commission's evaluation of the regulation was insufficiently rigorous, significantly overdue, and that several Member States are not correctly implementing the fee caps, harming European merchants. Lalucq's question targets two specific demands: first, what measures the Commission intends to take in response to the ECA's findings and by when; second, whether the Commission plans to conduct a thorough, independent evaluation of IFR compliance across all Member States, and within what timeframe.
The question reflects growing concern among MEPs about the effectiveness of EU financial regulations and their enforcement. The Commission is expected to reply within approximately six weeks; its answer will signal whether it prioritises a revision of the IFR or relies on existing enforcement mechanisms. The outcome could affect merchants, payment card networks, and consumers, as well as national authorities responsible for implementation.