Brussels, 10/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - In his draft report on revision of the postal directive (97/67/EC) presented at the end of March to the members of the European Parliament's committee on transport, Rapporteur Markus Ferber (EPP-ED, Germany) comes up with an innovation. He suggests restricting the scope of the universal postal service (UPS) to single postal items sent by private individuals once the sector is fully liberalised. In October 2006, the Commission suggested early 2009 should be kept as the time foreseen for total liberalisation of the postal sector, without affecting the UPS (see EUROPE 9289). Mr Ferber is of the same opinion as the Commission concerning the timetable for opening up to competition the last domain reserved to date, namely that of handling mail items weighing less than 50 grams. It would seem that the question of the date for opening the sector up to competition will come under even more discussion as it is linked to the obtaining of guarantees concerning the financing of the UPS. On the financing of public service obligations, the rapporteur goes a little further than the suggestion made by the Commission. He does not put forward any new methods of financing compared to the Commission's list, but, in his view, public markets will be compulsory whatever the method of financing chosen. The delay for making amendments to the legislative proposal put forward in parliamentary committee is fixed at 27 April, with the vote in this body being scheduled for June. The EP plenary session may give its stance in July. In Council, where the working group meets twice a month, the German EU presidency is still seeking to set out guidelines during the meeting of relevant ministers in June.
UPS. Markus Ferber considers a “balanced solution must be found” concerning the scope of universal service. In his view, small private customers must be able to continue to enjoy protections and guarantees for sending and receiving mail in small quantities at reasonable conditions, with totally different conditions applying to larger customers. Large-scale despatches by large clients are carried out according to demand, he said, as “service providers react flexibly and develop new offers”. The rapporteur suggests this difference should be taken into account and that the UPS be made an “instrument for the protection of consumers” by restricting it to single items of mail. At the present time, the universal service provides for mail to be collected and distributed once a day to the home of natural and legal persons every working day and no fewer than five days a week.
UPS financing. When it comes to UPS financing, Mr Ferber is of the view that the “Commission's catalogue (…) provides member states with objective solutions”. Acknowledging the fact that he had learned of other financing proposals during consultation with the parties interested, he nonetheless felt that “no convincing alternative solution” had been put forward to date. Although he did not refer to it specifically, Mr Ferber's allusion was no doubt to the “play or pay” mechanism proposed by a number of postal operators (see EUROPE 9360). The rapporteur announced that he would therefore not be putting forward any amendments on this subject. He does, however, consider that systematic recourse to public markets should take place whatever the method of financing used to support the operator(s) responsible for the UPS. The Commission has drawn up a non-exhaustive list of options available to the member states in its legislative proposal in order to finance the universal service in a competitive environment. State aid, public procurements and the creation of national compensation funds are among the solutions mentioned.
Affordable prices. Prices must be affordable for users to have access to postal services. The rapporteur considers it is up to national regulatory authorities to clarify this notion of affordable pricing as, he believes, such an exercise could not be carried out at European level. National authorities could decide that a single tariff be applied throughout their territory, but only for services provided at a unitary tariff and no longer for “other mailings” as the Commission suggests.
Working conditions. Mr Ferber recognises the importance of the postal workers' status and rights. Considering that sector-specific standards in this field are required to ensure a fair competitive situation between all postal operators, it is clearly written in an amendment that the postal directive should not affect the responsibility of member states when it comes to regulating working conditions. Member states may finalise measures in the sector previously reserved in line with Community law, he said, adding that there can only be fair competition in a member state if a minimum level of social security is guaranteed to all workers in the sector.
Reports. According to Mr Ferber, the Commission report on implementation of the postal directive should be presented every four years instead of every three years. He also suggests that the Commission should publish “by 31 December 2008, guidelines on application of competition rules and state aid regulations to the postal sector”.
Reactions. The “Ferber” report caused a considerable reaction among French MEPs. Christine de Veyrac from the EPP-ED group called for the timetable to be postponed due to the lack of impact studies. She said the rules put forward in the proposal on UPS financing were “unclear”. Objecting to restriction of the UPS to single item despatches, she voices criticism in a press release, saying: “On one hand, the Commission says in its text that a state may finance the universal service according to the method that it deems most appropriate … while on the other hand it opens a detailed inquiry into the Royal Mail of Great Britain for having received state aid”. Benoît Hamon, a Socialist, calls for resistance against the liberalisation of postal services in Europe. “The financing of the universal service and keeping the public service that provides daily distribution and collection of mail throughout the territory are today being brought into question”, he states in a press release. Trade unions in France have estimated that over 7,500 post offices will be closed and 60,000 jobs lost by 2010. Mr Hamon recalls that a European petition has been launched against the proposal of directive (see EUROPE 9310).
The European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation and of Enterprises of General Economic Interest (CEEP) calls on the EP and Council to “guarantee a sustainable funding” for the Universal Postal Service. It “warmly welcomes the initiative taken by nine postal operators to order a study from an independent consultancy (OXERA) on the universal service funding mechanisms in the postal sector” (see EUROPE 9360). The study highlights the difficulties of reaching compatibility between liberalisation and the provision of a universal service. It warns that the success of methods used to open other industries up to competition does not necessarily mean that such methods will also prove effective in the postal sector. “If, during the debates, a secure and sustainable funding of the universal service were not ensured, CEEP would recommend postponing the full market opening”, the CEEP press release states.
The European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CESI) expresses a similar view. “The sense of haste expressed by the Commission in its proposal for a directive is incomprehensible to us”, said CESI General Secretary Helmut Müllers, who calls for a “minimum salary and additional social benefits” for all workers in the sector. He goes on to add: “In the light of examples provided by other failed attempts at liberalisation, independent trade unions demand that a thorough risk analysis be undertaken regarding social cohesion and employment in each member state before the completion of the internal market for postal services. After all, sustainable universal services are a significant part of the European Social Model”.
The French local authorities (AMF, ADF, AMGVF, FMVM, APVF) have raised questions about the consequences of completing liberalisation of the postal sector. They consider the public postal service “essential for all citizens” and a major factor of France's “economic, social and territorial cohesion”. They consider in a press release that the Commission's overall impact assessment “does not reflect the differentiated reality of the territories” which are made up of islands, isolated rural areas and sensitive urban districts. “There is a risk of seeing service providers take an interest in dense, profitable areas and a lack of interest in the more isolated, less profitable areas”. (mb)