The governance and functioning of those partnerships should be open, transparent, effective and efficient and give the opportunity to a wide range of stakeholders active in their specific areas to participate.

41. Notes that the usage of small claims tribunals in some Member States remains significantly low and that more needs to be done in terms of legal certainty, language barriers and transparency of proceedings; calls on the Commission to devote particular attention to these legal bodies when formulating its legislative proposal on the use of ADR for consumer matters in the EU;

It is also becoming increasingly important that the Commission takes its decisions on infringement cases in a more transparent way and keeps complainants and petitioners (via the Committee on Petitions) better informed.

26. Is confident that the SEPA and the Payment Services Directive should provide solutions for the fragmentation and lack of competition identified by the sector inquiry concerning payment infrastructures; recalls that the first phase of the SEPA entered into force on 28 January 2008 and requires integrated clearing and settlement platforms, operating on the basis of the same rules and technical standards; emphasises that the access criteria to SEPA should be fair and transparent, and that governance should take into account all stakeholders in the system, not just financial institutions; recalls also that the Payment Services Directi ...[+++]ve provides that there should be no discrimination as regards access to payments systems other than that necessary to safeguard against risk and protect financial and operational stability; points out that under the principle of neutrality of Community policies, no single method of payment should be favoured over another, and the costs related to the use of the various payments systems should be transparent so that consumers can choose their method of payment in full knowledge of the facts;

26. Is confident that the SEPA and the Payment Services Directive should provide solutions for the fragmentation and lack of competition identified by the sector inquiry concerning payment infrastructures; recalls that the first phase of the SEPA entered into force on 28 January 2008 and requires integrated clearing and settlement platforms, operating on the basis of the same rules and technical standards; emphasises that the access criteria to SEPA should be fair and transparent, and that governance should take into account all stakeholders in the system, not just financial institutions; recalls also that the Payment Services Directi ...[+++]ve provides that there should be no discrimination as regards access to payments systems other than that necessary to safeguard against risk and protect financial and operational stability; points out that under the principle of neutrality of Community policies, no single method of payment should be favoured over another, and the costs related to the use of the various payments systems should be transparent so that consumers can choose their method of payment in full knowledge of the facts;

7. The Authority shall carry out its tasks in conditions which enable it to serve as a point of reference by virtue of its independence, the scientific and technical quality of the opinions it issues and the information it disseminates, the transparency of its procedures and methods of operation, and its diligence in performing the tasks assigned to it.