Abstract
The European Commission (EC) believes tariffs for parcel delivery services paid by low-volume senders (small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and individuals) are “too high” and are impeding e-commerce market development between EU Member States. In May, 2016, the EC released a proposal aimed at solving this problem. They notably proposed that national regulatory authorities assess the affordability of parcel delivery tariffs offered by national postal operators (NPOs) within their jurisdictions (article 5).The objective of this paper is to analyze the extent to which parcel delivery price affordability stimulates online exchanges between EU Member States. The novelty of this analysis is to view parcel delivery within a broader supply chain. After reviewing the economic literature on the meaning of affordability, this concept will be applied to parcel delivery services. Afterwards, the European Commission’s approach to affordability will be examined.
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