The New Directive on the Further Liberalization of Postal Markets in Europe

Abstract

The accomplishment of an internal market for postal services of course is particularly challenging and difficult to achieve. The notion of public service and the traditional perception of postal services as infrastructural task of public nature perfectly explains the distinct character of postal affairs. Nonetheless both the Community and the Member States have embarked on the creation of an internal market of postal services in 1997. With the new postal directive amending Directive 97/67/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules for the development of the internal market of Community postal services and the improvement of quality of services with regard to the further opening to competition, a second step has been taken to reach this goal. The amendment goes back to Article 3 of Directive 97/67/EC, which requires a decision of both the European Parliament and the Council with regard to further gradual and controlled liberalization of the postal market taking effect on January 1st, 2003. The new directive also takes into account the conclusions of the Lisbon European Council in March 2000, which called for two measures with regard to postal services: First, the Commission, the Council and the Member States, acting in accordance with their respective powers, were requested to set out a strategy for the removal of barriers to postal services by the end of 2000.