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Postal Issues

The purpose of EU policy in the postal sector is to complete the internal market for postal services and to ensure, through appropriate regulatory framework, reliable and good-quality postal services available to all the citizens in the European Union at affordable prices. On the basis of research and studies, the Commission agreed that this is the best way to maintain universal service while further improving quality and choice for EU consumers and businesses. Full market opening will mean that national operators will no longer have a monopoly on mail below a certain weight (currently a maximum of 50 grams); known as the 'reserved area'. Member States will be allowed a flexible choice of means, either to finance universal service provision or to share out the universal service obligation between operators.
FEP is part of the Postal Users Group (PUG). It is a broad platform of postal users who have a shared collective interest in policies designed to enhance and improve the quality, cost and availability of postal services in general.

Latest developments: on 1st October 2007, the EU ministers came to a political decision to open up the postal markets in the EU by 31 December 2010. There is a derogation to this date for a certain number of countries. The list of these countries will be made available by the EU later.


Link to the European Commission website
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/post/index_en.htm

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