A European Commission report, published on Monday 8 November, points out several limitations in both the implementation and the legal framework of Directive 97/67/EC on the harmonisation of postal services in the EU.
Based on a consultation launched in 2020 (see EUROPE 12438/24), the report notes, among other things, problems with the concepts enshrined in the Directive, which “do not allow for proper market delineation”, resulting in different implementation in different Member States, leading to “legal uncertainty and inconsistency”.
The authors of the report also mention the issue of harmonising the definition of postal services and products across EU legislation, leading to a fragmented European legal framework. They believe that voluntary technical standards are not sufficiently exploited, which poses problems in terms of interoperability.
On the positive side, the authors note that supervision by national regulatory authorities has improved with the increase in cross-border activity, contributing to a more consistent approach to enforcement at the European level.
Generally speaking, the authors of the report recommend possible adaptations of the legislative framework to the new digital situation.
Cross-border parcel delivery
Another report on Regulation 2018/644 on cross-border parcel delivery services shows an improvement in transparency on parcel delivery tariffs, but also reveals a lack of convergence in the monitoring and analysis of tariffs between national authorities.
For the report on the Postal Services Directive 97/67/EC: https://bit.ly/3qiAoCc
To read the report on Regulation 2018/644 on parcel delivery: https://bit.ly/3kd6sne (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)