He said that between now and the end of the decade the opening to competition of virtually the whole postal market appears to be inevitable. Third, French senator G rard Larcher who is a well known expert in the field of postal services, called upon all parties to look forward. All three make important points. The postal service is increasingly having to compete in the wider communications market with modern technology developed by the Internet, mobile telephones and the integration of different means of communication. The traditional post offices, with their rigid structure of employment and slow adaptation to market requirements, will not be able to compete in those markets if they are held back by Parliament's amendments.
Society demands a modern postal sector.
May I point at the main European consumer organisations, like the BEUC, which welcomed the Commission's proposal. Many consumer organisations would even want to open the postal market faster than the Commission because they expect greater competition to induce higher service quality at lower prices. However, the Commission did not propose the fast track liberalisation as preferred by consumer organisations. Our proposal strikes a balance because universal service providers will need time to change their structures further to become more flexible enterprises in order to adapt to new market conditions. Only the introduction of real competition in a controlled and progressive way, according to a timetable, will assist them to do this.