Notre ami Éric Ducoulombier a posté fin février sur LinkedIn un message annonçant son départ en retraite et faisant un petit bilan de ses 34 années à la Commission européenne.
Ce post d’Éric Ducoulombier a suscité de nombreux messages de remerciements et de félicitations, dont un message d’Hervé Sitruk au nom de France PAYMENTS FORUM, auxquels Éric Ducoulombier a ensuite répondu par un message de remerciement collectif.
Post d’Éric Ducoulombier.
Tomorrow, 27 February, will be my last working day at the European Commission. In fact it will most probably be my last working day ever, after 40 years, including 34 with the European Commission, faithfully and wholeheartedly serving the European project. It has been a real honour and a great pleasure to dedicate the best years of my life to this noble cause. I am also leaving the EU payments policy with a real feeling of achievement. In 5 years the payments policy went constantly up the political ladder, reaching now strategic level. I am very proud to have somehow contributed to this Copernican revolution, helped of course, if one can say so, by the geopolitical environment… The EU payments sovereignty is on its rails, or at full speed on its runway to use the popular ‘Airbus’ metaphor. We achieved major things in the past years, the instant payments regulation being one of them, a key driver to our autonomy, placing the EU high on the world map. But much remains to be done, notably to bring more coherence to our actions and a fresh political vision to the project. I am leaving that in the able hands of my successors and hierarchy. All the best to all of you, I will stay active on LinkedIn but obviously with a different profile and role.
Commentaire d’Hervé Sitruk
Éric, d’abord Bravo. Bravo pour avoir porté si haut le sujet des paiements au niveau européen… Tu as ouvert une voie difficile, que tes successeurs vont pouvoir emprunter. Mais la tâche reste immense, même si avec l’Instant Payment, et Wero, nous dépassons un cap majeur vers la souveraineté européenne des paiements : la fragmentation des marchés, la volonté de certains de privilégier certaines solutions domestiques, et le recul de la souveraineté dans de nombreux pays européens face aux puissances technologiques et financières internationales…. Mais nous allons poursuivre ton chemin, à porter haut le drapeau européen et continuer à construire ensemble l’Europe des paiements. Comme tu le sais, c’est la devise de FRANCE PAYMENTS FORUM qui entre dans sa quinzième année. Et tu nous a beaucoup aidé en éclairant nos amis sur les orientations et les choix européens. Tu sais que tu as toute ta place parmi nous, après de premiers grands congés bien mérités… Alors bonnes chances, profites de ces moments de liberté et si tu le veux, rejoins nous très vite…
Message de remerciement d’Éric Ducoulombier
Dear all, chers tous, many thanks for your nice words. I certainly don’t deserve all this praise. And if you say I do then I wish to at least share it with all of you. The European payments stakeholders community, to which many of you belong, is incredibly vibrant. It is, you are, the EU’s huge asset in this extremely challenging and competitive landscape. But we need to believe in our strengths, which are impressive. And we need more unity. We are at crossroads but I am convinced that we will collectively chose the right way. EU payments sovereignty is not just the flavour of the month. It is there to stay, and rightly so. I will remain an active and optimistic observer, helping the planets to stay aligned!
