1997L0067 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B DIRECTIVE97/67/ECOFTHEEUROPEANPARLIAMENTANDOFTHECOUNCIL
of15December 1997
on common rules for the development of the internal market of Community postal services and
theimprovementofqualityofservice
(OJ L 15, 21.1.1998, p. 14)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Directive 2002/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of
10 June 2002L 176 21 5.7.2002
►M2Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 29 September 2003L 284 1 31.10.2003
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DIRECTIVE 97/67/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
ANDOFTHECOUNCIL
of15December 1997
on common rules for the development of the internal market of
Community postal services and the improvement of quality of
service
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and
in particular Articles 57 (2), 66 and 100a thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (3),
Having regard to the resolution of the European Parliament of 22
January 1993 concerning the green paper on the development of thesingle market for postal services (
4),
Having regard to the Council resolution of 7 February 1994 on the
development of Community postal services (5),
Acting in accordance withth e procedure laid down in Article 189b of
the Treaty, in the light of the joint text approved by the ConciliationCommittee on 7 November 1997 (
6),
(1)Whereas measures should be adopted with the aim of estab-lishing the internal market in accordance with Article 7a of theTreaty; whereas this market comprises an area without internal
frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services
and capital is ensured;
(2)Whereas the establishment of the internal market in the postalsector is of proven importance for the economic and social cohe-sion of the Community, in that postal services are an essentialinstrument of communication and trade;
(3)Whereas on 11 June 1992 the Commission presented a Green
Paper on the development of the single market for postal
services and, on 2 June 1993, a Communication on the guide-lines for the development of Community postal services;
(4)Whereas the Commission has conducted wide-ranging publicconsultation on those aspects of postal services that are ofinterest to the Community and the interested parties in the postalsector have communicated their observations to the Commission;
(5)Whereas the current extent of the universal postal service andthe conditions governing its provision vary significantly fromone Member State to another; whereas, in particular, perfor-mance in terms of quality of services is very unequal amongstMember States;
(6)Whereas cross-border postal links do not always meet the expec-tations of users and European citizens, and performance, in terms1997L0067 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 2
(1) OJ C 322, 2. 12. 1995, p. 22, and
OJ C 300, 10. 10. 1996, p. 22.
(2) OJ C 174, 17. 6. 1996, p. 41.
(3) OJ C 337, 11. 11. 1996, p. 28.
(4) OJ C 42, 15. 2. 1993, p. 240.
(5) OJ C 48, 16. 2. 1994, p. 3.
(6) Opinion of the European Parliament of 9 May 1996 (OJ C 152, 27. 5. 1996,
p. 20), Council Common Position of 29 April 1997 (OJ C 188, 19. 6. 1997,
p. 9) and Decision of the European Parliament of 16 September 1997 (OJ C
304, 6. 10. 1997, p. 34); Decision of the European Parliament of 19
November 1997 and Decision of the Council of 1 December 1997.
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of quality of service withregard to Community cross-border
postal services, is at the moment unsatisfactory;
(7)Whereas the disparities observed in the postal sector haveconsiderable implications for those sectors of activity whichrely especially on postal services and effectively impede the
progress towards internal Community cohesion, in that the
regions deprived of postal services of sufficiently high qualityfind themselves at a disadvantage as regards both their letterservice and the distribution of goods;
(8)Whereas measures seeking to ensure the gradual and controlledliberalisation of the market and to secure a proper balance inthe application thereof are necessary in order to guarantee,throughout the Community, and subject to the obligations andrights of the universal service providers, the free provision of
services in the postal sector itself;
(9)Whereas action at Community level to ensure greater harmonisa-
tion of the conditions governing the postal sector is therefore
necessary and steps must consequently be taken to establish
common rules;
(10)Whereas, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, a set
of general principles should be adopted at Community level,
whilst the choice of the exact procedures should be a matter forthe Member States, which should be free to choose the systembest adapted to their own circumstances;
(11)Whereas it is essential to guarantee at Community level auniversal postal service encompassing a minimum range ofservices of specified quality to be provided in all Member Statesat an affordable price for the benefit of all users, irrespective of
their geographical location in the Community;
(12)Whereas the aim of the universal services is to offer all users
easy access to the postal network through the provision, in parti-
cular, of a sufficient number of access points and by ensuring
satisfactory conditions withregard to th e frequency of collec-tions and deliveries; whereas the provision of the universalservice must meet the fundamental need to ensure continuity ofoperation, whilst at the same time remaining adaptable to the
needs of users as well as guaranteeing them fair and non-discri-
minatory treatment;
(13)Whereas universal service must cover national services as well
as cross-border services;
(14)Whereas users of the universal service must be given adequate
information on the range of services offered, the conditions
governing their supply and use, the quality of the services
provided, and the tariffs;
(15)Whereas the provisions of this Directive relating to universal
service provision are without prejudice to the right of universal
service operators to negotiate contracts withcustomers individu-ally;
(16)Whereas the maintenance of a range of those services that maybe reserved, in compliance with the rules of the Treaty andwithout prejudice to the application of the rules on competition,appears justified on the grounds of ensuring the operation of theuniversal service under financially balanced conditions; whereas
the process of liberalisation should not curtail the continuing
supply of certain free services for blind and partially sightedpersons introduced by the Member States;
(17)Whereas items of correspondence weighing 350 grammes andover represent less than 2 % of letter volume and less than 3 %of the receipts of the public operators; whereas the criteria ofprice (five times the basic tariff) will better permit the distinc-tion between the reserved service and the express service,which is liberalised;1997L0067 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 3
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(18)Whereas, in view of the fact that the essential difference
between express mail and universal postal services lies in the
value added (whatever form it takes) provided by expressservices and perceived by customers, the most effective way ofdetermining the extra value perceived is to consider the extraprice that customers are prepared to pay, without prejudice,however, to the price limit of the reserved area which must be
respected;
(19)Whereas it is reasonable to allow, on an interim basis, for directmail and cross-border mail to continue to be capable of reserva-
tion within the price and weight limits provided; whereas, as afurther step towards the completion of the internal market ofpostal services, a decision on the further gradual controlled liber-alisation of the postal market, in particular with a view to the
liberalisation of cross-border and direct mail as well as on a
further review of the price and weight limits, should be takenby the European Parliament and the Council not later than 1January 2000, on a proposal from the Commission following areview of the sector;
(20)Whereas, for reasons of public order and public security,Member States may have a legitimate interest in conferring on
one or more entities designated by them the right to site on the
public highway letter-boxes intended for the reception of postalitems; whereas, for the same reasons, they are entitled to appointthe entity or entities responsible for issuing postage stamps iden-tifying the country of origin and those responsible for providingthe registered mail service used in the course of judicial or
administrative procedures in accordance withth eir national legis-
lation; whereas they may also indicate membership of theEuropean Union by integrating the 12-star symbol;
(21)Whereas new services (services quite distinct from conventionalservices) and document exchange do not form part of theuniversal service and consequently there is no justification fortheir being reserved to the universal service providers; whereas
this applies equally to self-provision (provision of postal services
by the natural or legal person who is the originator of the mail,or collection and routing of these items by a third party actingsolely on behalf of that person), which does not fall within thecategory of services;
(22)Whereas Member States should be able to regulate, by appro-priate authorization procedures, on their territory, the provision
of postal services which are not reserved to the universal service
providers; whereas those procedures must be transparent, non-discriminatory, proportionate and based on objective criteria;
(23)Whereas the Member States should have the option of makingthe grant of licences subject to universal service obligations orcontributions to a compensation fund intended to compensatethe universal service provider for the provision of services repre-senting an unfair financial burden; whereas Member States
should be able to include in the authorisations an obligation
that the authorised activities must not infringe the exclusive orspecial rights granted to the universal service providers for thereserved services; whereas an identification system for directmail may be introduced for the purposes of supervision where
direct mail is liberalised;
(24)Whereas measures necessary for the harmonisation of authorisa-tion procedures laid down by the Member States governing the
commercial provision to the public of non-reserved serviceswill have to be adopted;
(25)Whereas, should this prove necessary, measures shall be adoptedto ensure the transparency and non-discriminatory nature ofconditions governing access to the public postal network inMember States;
(26)Whereas, in order to ensure sound management of the universalservice and to avoid distortions of competition, the tariffs1997L0067 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 4
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applied to the universal service should be objective, transparent,
non-discriminatory and geared to costs;
(27)Whereas the remuneration for the provision of the intra-Commu-nity cross-border mail service, without prejudice to the minimumset of obligations derived from Universal Postal Union acts,should be geared to cover the costs of delivery incurred by theuniversal service provider in the country of destination; whereasthis remuneration should also provide an incentive to improve or
maintain the quality of the cross-border service through the use
of quality-of-service targets; whereas this would justify suitablesystems providing for an appropriate coverage of costs andrelated specifically to the quality of service achieved;
(28)Whereas separate accounts for the different reserved services and
non-reserved services are necessary in order to introduce trans-
parency into the actual costs of the various services and inorder to ensure that cross-subsidies from the reserved sector tothe non-reserved sector do not adversely affect the competitiveconditions in the latter;
(29)Whereas, in order to ensure the application of the principles setout in the previous three recitals, universal service providersshould implement, within a reasonable time limit, costaccounting systems, which can be independently verified, bywhich costs can be allocated to services as accurately as possibleon the basis of transparent procedures; whereas such require-
ments can be fulfilled, for example, by implementation of the
principle of fully distributed costing; whereas such costaccounting systems may not be required in circumstances wheregenuine conditions of open competition exist;
(30)Whereas consideration should be given to the interests of users,
who are entitled to services of a high quality; whereas, therefore,
every effort must be made to improve and enhance the quality ofservices provided at Community level; whereas such improve-ments in quality require Member States to lay down standards,to be attained or surpassed by the universal service providers,in respect of the services forming part of the universal service;
(31)Whereas the quality of service expected by users constitutes anessential aspect of the sevices provided; whereas the evaluationstandards for this quality of service and the levels of qualityachieved must be published in the interests of users; whereas itis necessary to have available harmonised quality-of-service
standards and a common methodology for measurement in order
to be able to evaluate the convergence of the quality of servicethroughout the Community;
(32)Whereas national quality standards consistent with Communitystandards must be determined by Member States; whereas, in
the case of intra-Community cross-border services requiring the
combined efforts of at least two universal service providers fromtwo different Member States, quality standards must be definedat Community level;
(33)Whereas compliance with these standards must be independently
verified at regular intervals and on a harmonised basis; whereas
users must have the right to be informed of the results of thisverification and Member States should ensure that correctiveaction is taken where those results demonstrate that the standardsare not being met;
(34)Whereas Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair
terms in consumer contracts (1) applies to postal operators;
(35)Whereas the need for improvement of quality of service means
that disputes have to be settled quickly and efficiently; whereas,in addition to the forms of legal redress available under nationaland Community law, a procedure dealing withcomplaints sh ould1997L0067 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 5
(1) OJ L 95, 21. 4. 1993, p. 29.
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be provided, which should be transparent, simple and inexpen-
sive and should enable all relevant parties to participate;
(36)Whereas progress in the interconnection of postal networks and
the interests of users require that technical standardisation be
encouraged; whereas technical standardisation is indispensablefor the promotion of interoperability between national networksand for an efficient Community universal service;
(37)Whereas guidelines on European harmonisation provide forspecialised technical standardisation activities to be entrusted to
the European Committee for Standardisation;
(38)Whereas a committee should be established to assist the
Commission with the implementation of this Directive, particu-larly in relation to the future work on the development ofmeasures relating to the quality of Community cross-borderservice and technical standardisation;
(39)Whereas, in order to ensure the proper functioning of the
universal service and to ensure undistorted competition in the
non-reserved sector, it is important to separate the functions ofthe regulator, on the one hand, and the operator, on the other;whereas no postal operator may be both judge and interestedparty; whereas it is for the Member State to define the statute
of one or more national regulatory authorities, which may be
chosen from public authorities or independent entities appointedfor that purpose;
(40)Whereas the effects of the harmonised conditions on the func-tioning of the internal market in postal services will need to bethe subject of an assessment; whereas, therefore, the Commis-sion will present a report to the European Parliament and the
Council on the application of this Directive, including the appro-
priate information on developments in the sector, particularlyconcerning economic, social, employment and technologicalaspects, as well as on quality of service, three years followingthe date of its entry into force, and in any event no later than
31 December 2000;
(41)Whereas this Directive does not affect the application of the
rules of the Treaty, and in particular its rules on competitionand the freedom to provide services;
(42)Whereas nothing shall prevent Member States from maintainingin force or introducing measures for the postal sector which aremore liberal than those provided for by this Directive, nor,
should this Directive lapse, from maintaining in force measures
which they have introduced in order to implement it, provided ineach case that such measures are compatible with the Treaty;
(43)Whereas it is appropriate that this Directive should apply until31 December 2004 unless otherwise decided by the EuropeanParliament and the Council on the basis of a proposal from the
Commission;
(44)Whereas this Directive does not apply to any activity which falls
outside the scope of Community law, such as those provided forby Titles V and VI of the Treaty on European Union, and in anycase to activities concerning public security, defence, Statesecurity (including the economic well-being of the State when
the activities relate to State security matters) and the activities
of the State in areas of criminal law;
(45)Whereas this Directive does not, in the case of undertakingswhich are not established in the Community, prevent the adop-tion of measures in accordance withbothCommunity law andexisting international obligations designed to ensure that
nationals of the Member States enjoy similar treatment in third
countries; whereas Community undertakings should benefit inthird countries from treatment and effective access that iscomparable to the treatment and access to the market which isconferred on nationals of the countries concerned within theCommunity context,1997L0067 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 6
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HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
CHAPTER 1
Objective andscope
Article 1
This Directive establishes common rules concerning:
— the provision of a universal postal service within the Community,
— the criteria defining the services which may be reserved for
universal service providers and the conditions governing the provi-sion of non-reserved services,
— tariff principles and transparency of accounts for universal service
provision,
— the setting of quality standards for universal service provision and
the setting-up of a system to ensure compliance with those stan-
dards,
— the harmonisation of technical standards,
— the creation of independent national regulatory authorities.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions shall apply:
1.postal services: services involving the clearance, sorting, transport
and delivery of postal items;
2.public postal network: the system of organisation and resources of
all kinds used by the universal service provider(s) for the purposes
in particular of:
— the clearance of postal items covered by a universal service
obligation from access points throughout the territory,
— the routing and handling of those items from the postal network
access point to the distribution centre,
— distribution to the addresses shown on items;
3.access points: physical facilities, including letter boxes provided
for the public either on the public highway or at the premises ofthe universal service provider, where postal items may be depos-
ited withth e public postal network by customers;
4.clearance: the operation of collecting postal items deposited at
access points;
5.distribution: the process from sorting at the distribution centre to
delivery of postal items to their addressees;
6.postal item: an item addressed in the final form in which it is to be
carried by the universal service provider. In addition to items ofcorrespondence, suchitems also include for instance books, catalo-
gues, newspapers, periodicals and postal packages containing
merchandise with or without commercial value;
7.item of correspondence: a communication in written form on any
kind of physical medium to be conveyed and delivered at theaddress indicated by the sender on the item itself or on its wrap-ping. Books, catalogues, newspapers and periodicals shall not beregarded as items of correspondence;
8.direct mail: a communication consisting solely of advertising,
marketing or publicity material and comprising an identical
message, except for the addressee's name, address and identifyingnumber as well as other modifications which do not alter the natureof the message, which is sent to a significant number of addressees,to be conveyed and delivered at the address indicated by the sender
on the item itself or on its wrapping. The national regulatory
authority shall interpret the term ‘significant number of addressees’within each Member State and shall publish an appropriate defin-tion. Bills, invoices, financial statements and other non-identicalmessages shall not be regarded as direct mail. A communicationcombining direct mail with other items within the same wrapping1997L0067 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 7
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shall not be regarded as direct mail. Direct mail shall include
cross-border as well as domestic direct mail;
9.registered item: a service providing a flat-rate guarantee against
risks of loss, theft or damage and supplying the sender, whereappropriate upon request, with proof of the handing in of the postal
item and/or of its delivery to the addressee;
10.insured item: a service insuring the postal item up to the value
declared by the sender in the event of loss, theft or damage;
11.cross-border mail: mail from or to another Member State or from
or to a third country;
12.document exchange: provision of means, including the supply of ad
hoc premises as well as transportation by a third party, allowing
self-delivery by mutual exchange of postal items between users
subscribing to this service;
13.universal service provider: the public or private entity providing a
universal postal service or parts thereof within a Member State, the
identity of which has been notified to the Commission in accor-dance withArticle 4;
14.authorisations: means any permission setting out rights and obliga-
tions specific to the postal sector and allowing undertakings toprovide postal services and, where applicable, to establish and/oroperate postal networks for the provision of such services, in theform of a ‘general authorisation’ or ‘individual licence’ as defined
below:
— ‘general authorisation’ means an authorisation, regardless of
whether it is regulated by a ‘class licence’ or under general
law and regardless of whether such regulation requires registra-tion or declaration procedures, which does not require theundertaking concerned to obtain an explicit decision by thenational regulatory authority before exercising the rights stem-ming from the authorisation,
— ‘individual licence’ means an authorisation which is granted by
a national regulatory authority and which gives an undertakingspecific rights, or which subjects that undertaking's operationsto specific obligations supplementing the general authorisationwhere applicable, where the undertaking is not entitled to exer-cice the rights concerned until it has received the decision by
the national regulatory authority;
15.terminal dues: the remuneration of universal service providers for
the distribution of incoming cross-border mail comprising postal
items from another Member State or from a third country;
16.sender:a natural or legal person responsible for originating postal
items;
17.users:any natural or legal person benefiting from universal service
provision as a sender or an addressee;
18.national regulatory authority: the body or bodies, in each Member
State, to which the Member State entrusts, inter alia, the regulatory
functions falling within the scope of this Directive;
19.essential requirements: general non-economic reasons which can
induce a Member State to impose conditions on the supply of
postal services. These reasons are the confidentiality of correspon-dence, security of the network as regards the transport ofdangerous goods and, where justified, data protection, environ-mental protection and regional planning.
Data protection may include personal data protection, the confiden-
tiality of information transmitted or stored and protection ofprivacy.1997L0067 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 8
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CHAPTER 2
Universalservice
Article 3
1. Member States shall ensure that users enjoy the right to a
universal service involving the permanent provision of a postal service
of specified quality at all points in their territory at affordable prices
for all users.
2. To this end, Member States shall take steps to ensure that the
density of the points of contact and of the access points takes account
of the needs of users.
3. They shall take steps to ensure that the universal service provi-
der(s) guarantee(s) every working day and not less than five days aweek, save in circumstances or geographical conditions deemed excep-
tional by the national regulatory authorities, as a miminum:
— one clearance,
— one delivery to the home or premises of every natural or legal
person or, by way of derogation, under conditions at the discretionof the national regulatory authority, one delivery to appropriateinstallations.
Any exception or derogation granted by a national regulatory authority
in accordance with this paragraph must be communicated to theCommission and to all national regulatory authorities.
4. Each Member State shall adopt the measures necessary to ensure
that the universal service includes the following minimum facilities:
— the clearance, sorting, transport and distribution of postal items up
to two kilograms,
— the clearance, sorting, transport and distribution of postal packages
up to 10 kilograms,
— services for registered items and insured items.
5. The national regulatory authorities may increase the weight limit
of universal service coverage for postal packages to any weight notexceeding 20 kilograms and may lay down special arrangements forthe door-to-door delivery of such packages.
Notwithstanding the weight limit of universal service coverage for
postal packages established by a given Member State, Member Statesshall ensure that postal packages received from other Member Statesand weighing up to 20 kilograms are delivered within their territories.
6. The minimum and maximum dimensions for the postal items in
question shall be those laid down in the Convention and the Agreementconcerning Postal Parcels adopted by the Universal Postal Union.
7. The universal service as defined in this Article shall cover both
national and cross-border services.
Article 4
Each Member State shall ensure that the provision of the universal
service is guaranteed and shall notify the Commission of the steps it
has taken to fulfil this obligation and, in particular, the identity of its
universal service provider(s). EachMember State sh all determine inaccordance with Community law the obligations and rights assignedto the universal service provider(s) and shall publish them.
Article 5
1. Each Member State shall take steps to ensure that universal
service provision meets the following requirements:
— it shall offer a service guaranteeing compliance with the essential
rerquirements,
— it shall offer an identical service to users under comparable condi-
tions,1997L0067 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 9
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— it shall be made available without any form of discrimination what-
soever, especially without discrimination arising from political,religious or ideological considerations,
— it shall not be interrupted or stopped except in cases of force
majeure,
— it shall evolve in response to the technical, economic and social
environment and to the needs of users.
2. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall not preclude measures which
the Member States take in accordance with requirements relating to
public interest recognized by the Treaty, in particular Articles 36 and
56 thereof, concerning, inter alia, public morality, public security,
including criminal invesigations, and public policy.
Article 6
Member States shall take steps to ensure that users are regularly given
sufficiently detailed and up-to-date information by the universal service
provider(s) regarding the particular features of the universal servicesoffered, withspecial reference to th e general conditions of access tothese services as well as to prices and quality standard levels. Thisinformation shall be published in an appropriate manner.
Member States shall notify the Commission, within 12 months of the
date of entry into force of this Directive, how the information to bepublished in accordance with the first subparagraph is being madeavailable. Any subsequent modifications shall be notified to theCommission at the earliest opportunity.
CHAPTER 3
Harmonizationoftheservices whichmaybereserved
Article 7
1. To the extent necessary to ensure the maintenance of universal
service, Member States may continue to reserve services to universalservice provider(s). Those services shall be limited to the clearance,sorting, transport and delivery of items of domestic correspondenceand incoming cross-border correspondence, whether by accelerated
delivery or not, within both of the following weight and price limits.
The weight limit shall be 100 grams from 1 January 2003 and 50grams from 1 January 2006. These weight limits shall not apply asfrom 1 January 2003 if the price is equal to, or more than, three timesthe public tariff for an item of correspondence in the first weight step
of the fastest category, and, as from 1 January 2006, if the price is
equal to, or more than, two and a half times this tariff.
In the case of the free postal service for blind and partially sighted
persons, exceptions to the weight and price restrictions may bepermitted.
To the extent necessary to ensure the provision of universal service,
direct mail may continue to be reserved within the same weight andprice limits.
To the extent necessary to ensure the provision of universal service, for
example when certain sectors of postal activity have already been liber-
alised or because of the specific characteristics particular to the postal
services in a Member State, outgoing cross-border mail may continueto be reserved within the same weight and price limits.
2. Document exchange may not be reserved.
3. The Commission shall finalise a prospective study which will
assess, for each Member State, the impact on universal service of thefull accomplishment of the postal internal market in 2009. Based onthe study's conclusions, the Commission shall submit by 31 December2006 a report to the European Parliament and the Council accompaniedby a proposal confirming, if appropriate, the date of 2009 for the full1997L0067 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 10
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accomplishment of the postal internal market or determining any other
step in the light of the study's conclusions.
Article 8
The provisions of Article 7 shall be without prejudice to Member
States' right to organise the siting of letter boxes on the public
highway, the issue of postage stamps and the registered mail service
used in the course of judicial or administrative procedures in accor-dance withth eir national legislation.
CHAPTER 4
Conditions governing the provision of non-reserved services and
accesstothenetwork
Article 9
1. For non-reserved services which are outside the scope of the
universal service as defined in Article 3, Member States may introducegeneral authorisations to the extent necessary in order to guarantee
compliance withth e essential requirements.
2. For non-reserved services which are within the scope of the
universal service as defined in Article 3, Member States may introduceauthorisation procedures, including individual licences, to the extentnecessary in order to guarantee compliance withth e essential require-ments and to safeguard the universal service.
The granting of authorisations may:
— where appropriate, be made subject to universal service obligations,
— if necessary, impose requirements concerning the quality, avail-
ability and performance of the relevant services,
— be made subject to the obligation not to infringe the exclusive or
special rights granted to the universal service provider(s) for the
reserved postal services under Article 7(1) and (2).
3. The procedures described in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be trans-
parent, non-discriminatory, proportionate and based on objectivecriteria. Member States must ensure that the reasons for refusing anauthorisation in whole or in part are communicated to the applicantand must establishan appeal procedure.
4. In order to ensure that the universal service is safeguarded, where
a Member State determines that the universal service obligations, as
provided for by this Directive, represent an unfair financial burden forthe universal service provider, it may establish a compensation fundadministered for this purpose by a body independent of the beneficiaryor beneficiaries. In this case, it may make the granting of authorisation
subject to an obligation to make a financial contribution to that fund.
The Member State must ensure that the principles of transparency,non-discrimination and proportionality are respected in establishingthe compensation fund and when fixing the level of the financialcontributions. Only those services set out in Article 3 may be financedin this way.
5. Member States may provide for an identification system for direct
mail, allowing the supervision of such services where they are liberal-
ised.
Article 10
1. The European Parliament and the Council, acting on a proposal
from the Commission and on the basis of Articles 57(2), 66 and 100aof the Treaty, shall adopt the measures necessary for the harmonisationof the procedures referred to in Article 9 governing the commercialprovision to the public of non-reserved postal services.
2. The harmonisation measures referred to in paragraph 1 shall
concern, in particular, the criteria to be observed and the procedures1997L0067 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 11
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to be followed by the postal operator, the manner of publication of
those criteria and procedures, as well as the appeal procedures to befollowed.
Article 11
The European Parliament and the Council, acting on a proposal from
the Commission and on the basis of Articles 57(2), 66 and 100a ofthe Treaty, shall adopt such harmonisation measures as are necessaryto ensure that users and the universal service provider(s) have accessto the public postal network under conditions which are transparent
and non-discriminatory.
CHAPTER 5
Tariffprinciplesandtransparencyofaccounts
Article 12
Member States shall take steps to ensure that the tariffs for each of the
services forming part of the provision of the universal service complywithth e following principles:
— prices must be affordable and must be such that all users have
access to the services provided,
— prices must be geared to costs; Member States may decide that a
uniform tariff should be applied throughout their national territory,
— the application of a uniform tariff does not exclude the right of the
universal service provider(s) to conclude individual agreements onprices withcustomers,
— tariffs must be transparent and non-discriminatory,
— whenever universal service providers apply special tariffs, for
example for services for businesses, bulk mailers or consolidatorsof mail from different customers, they shall apply the principles oftransparency and non-discrimination withregard bothto th e tariffsand to the associated conditions. The tariffs shall take account ofthe avoided costs, as compared to the standard service covering
the complete range of features offered for the clearance, transport,
sorting and delivery of individual postal items and, together withthe associated conditions, shall apply equally both as betweendifferent third parties and as between third parties and universalservice providers supplying equivalent services. Any suchtariffs
shall also be available to private customers who post under similar
conditions,
— cross-subsidisation of universal services outside the reserved sector
out of revenues from services in the reserved sector shall be prohib-
ited except to the extent to which it is shown to be strictly
necessary to fulfil specific universal service obligations imposed inthe competitive area; except in Member States where there are noreserved services, rules shall be adopted to this effect by thenational regulatory authorities who shall inform the Commission ofsuchmeasures.
Article 13
1. In order to ensure the cross-border provision of the universal
service, Member States shall encourage their universal service provi-ders to arrange that in their agreements on terminal dues for intra-Community cross-border mail, the following principles are respected:
— terminal dues shall be fixed in relation to the costs of processing
and delivering incoming cross-border mail,
— levels of remuneration shall be related to the quality of service
achieved,
— terminal dues shall be transparent and non-discriminatory.
2. The implementation of these principles may include transitional
arrangements designed to avoid undue disruption on postal markets or1997L0067 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 12
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unfavourable implications for economic operators provided there is
agreement between the operators of origin and receipt; such arrange-ments shall, however, be restricted to the minimum required to
achieve these objectives.
Article 14
1. Member States shall take the measures necessary to ensure,
within two years of the date of entry into force of this Directive, thatthe accounting of the universal service providers is conducted in accor-dance with the provisions of this Article.
2. The universal service providers shall keep serparate accounts
within their internal accounting systems at least for each of the serviceswithin the reserved sector on the one hand and for the non-reservedservices on the other. The accounts for the non-reserved servicesshould clearly distinguish between services which are part of the
universal service and services which are not. Such internal accounting
systems shall operate on the basis of consistently applied and objec-tively justifiable cost accounting principles.
3. The accounting systems referred to in paragraph 2 shall, without
prejudice to paragraph4, allocate costs to eachof th e reserved and to
the non-reserved services respectively in the following manner:
(a) costs which can be directly assigned to a particular service shall be
so assigned;
(b) common costs, that is costs which cannot be directly assigned to a
particular service, shall be allocated as follows:
(i) whenever possible, common costs shall be allocated on the
basis of direct analysis of the origin of the costs themselves;
(ii) when direct analysis is not possible, common cost categories
shall be allocated on the basis of an indirect linkage to another
cost category or group of cost categories for which a directassignment or allocation is possible; the indirect linkage shallbe based on comparable cost structures;
(iii) when neither direct nor indirect measures of cost allocation
can be found, the cost category shall be allocated on the basis
of a general allocator computed by using the ratio of all
expenses directly or indirectly assigned or allocated, on theone hand, to each of the reserved services and, on the otherhand, to the other services.
4. Other cost accounting systems may be applied only if they are
compatible with paragraph 2 and have been approved by the national
regulatory authority. The Commission shall be informed prior to their
application.
5. National regulatory authorities shall ensure that compliance with
one of the cost accounting systems described in paragraphs 3 or 4 isverified by a competent body which is independent of the universal
service provider. Member States shall ensure that a statement
concerning compliance is published periodically.
6. The national regulatory authority shall keep available, to an
adequate level of detail, information on the cost accounting systemsapplied by a universal service provider, and shall submit such informa-
tion to the Commission on request.
7. On request, detailed accounting information arising from these
systems shall be made available in confidence to the national regula-tory authority and to the Commission.
8. Where a given Member State has not reserved any of the services
reservable under Article 7 and as not established a compensation fund
for universal service provision, as permitted under Article 9(4), andwhere the national regulatory authority is satisfied that none of thedesignated universal service providers in that Member State is inreceipt of State subvention, hidden or otherwise, the national regulatoryauthority may decide not to apply the requirements of paragraphs 2, 3,1997L0067 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 13
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4, 5, 6 and 7 of this Article. The national regulatory authority shall
inform the Commission of all such decisions.
Article 15
The financial accounts of all universal service providers shall be drawn
up, submitted to audit by an independent auditor and published inaccordance withth e relevant Community and national legislation tocommercial undertakings.
CHAPTER 6
Qualityofservices
Article 16
Member States shall ensure that quality-of-service standards are set and
published in relation to universal service in order to guarantee a postalservice of good quality.
Quality standards shall focus, in particular, on routing times and on the
regularity and reliability of services.
These standards shall be set by:
— the Member States in the case of national services,
— the European Parliament and the Council in the case of intra-
Community cross-border services (see Annex). Future adjustmentof these standards to technical progress or market developmentsshall be made in accordance with the procedure laid down inArticle 21.
Independent performance monitoring shall be carried out at least once a
year by external bodies having no links with the universal serviceproviders under standardised conditions to be specified in accordancewith the procedure laid down in Article 21 and shall be the subject of
reports published at least once a year.
Article 17
Member States shall day down quality standards for national mail and
shall ensure that they are compatible with those laid down for intra-Community cross-border services.
Member States shall notify their quality standards for national services
to the Commission, who will publish them in the same manner as thestandards for intra-Community cross-border services referred to inArticle 18.
National regulatory authorities shall ensure that independent perfor-
mance monitoring is carried out in accordance withth e fourthsubparagraph of Article 16, that the results are justified, and thatcorrective action is taken where necessary.
Article 18
1. In accordance withArticle 16, quality standards for intra-Commu-
nity cross-border services are laid down in the Annex.
2. Where exceptional situations relating to infrastructure or
geography so require, the national regulatory authorities may determine
exemptions from the quality standards provided for in the Annex.
Where national regulatory authorities determine exemptions in thismanner, they shall notify the Commission forthwith. The Commissionshall submit an annual report of the notifications received during theprevious 12 months to the Committee established under Article 21 forits information.
3. The Commission shall publish in the Official Journal of the
European Communities any adjustments made to the quality standards
for intra-Community cross-border services and shall take steps toensure the regular independent monitoring and the publication ofperformance levels certifying compliance with these standards and the1997L0067 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 14
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progress accomplished. National regulatory authorities shall ensure that
corrective action is taken where necessary.
Article 19
Member States shall ensure that transparent, simple and inexpensive
procedures are drawn up for dealing withusers' complaints, particularly
in cases involving loss, theft, damage or non-compliance with service
quality standards (including procedures for determining where respon-sibility lies in cases where more than one operator is involved).
Member States may provide that this principle is also applied to bene-
ficiaries of services which are:
— outside the scope of the universal service as defined in Article 3,
and
— within the scope of the universal service as defined in Article 3, but
which are not provided by the universal service provider.
Member States shall adopt measures to ensure that the procedures
referred to in the first subparagraph enable disputes to be settled fairly
and promptly withprovision, wh ere warranted, for a system of reim-bursement and/or compensation.
Without prejudice to other possibilities of appeal under national and
Community legislation, Member States shall ensure that users, acting
individually or, where permitted by national law, jointly with organisa-tions representing the interests of users and/or consumers, may bringbefore the competent national authority cases where users' complaintsto the universal service provider have not been satisfactory resolved.
In accordance with Article 16, Member States shall ensure that the
universal service providers publish, together with the annual report onthe monitoring of their performance, information on the number ofcomplaints and the manner in which they have been dealt with.
CHAPTER 7
Harmonisationoftechnical standards
Article 20
The harmonisation of technical standards shall be continued, taking
into account in particular the interests of users.
The European Committee for Standardisation shall be entrusted with
drawing up technical standards applicable in the postal sector on thebasis of remits to it pursuant to the principles set out in Council Direc-tive 83/189/EEC of 28 March1983 laying down a procedure for th e
provision of information in the field of technical standards and regula-
tions (
1).
This work shall take account of the harmonisation measures adopted at
international level and in particular those decided upon within theUniversal Postal Union.
The standards applicable shall be published in the Official Journal of
the European Communities once a year.
Member States shall ensure that universal service providers refer to the
standards published in the Official Journal where necessary in the inter-
ests of users and in particular when they supply the informationreferred to in Article 6.
The Committee provided for in Article 21 shall be kept informed of the
discussions within the European Committee for Standardisation and theprogress achieved in this area by that body.1997L0067 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 15
(1) OJ L 109, 26. 4. 1983, p. 8. Directive as last amended by Commission Deci-
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CHAPTER 8
Thecommittee
Article 21
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee.
2. Where reference is made to this Article, Articles 5 and 7 of Deci-
sion 1999/468/EC (1) shall apply, having regard to the provisions of
Article 8 thereof.
The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be
set at three months.
3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.
CHAPTER 9
Thenationalregulatory authority
Article 22
EachMember State sh all designate one or more national regulatory
authorities for the postal sector that are legally separate from and oper-
ationally independent of the postal operators.
Member States shall inform the Commission which national regulatory
authorities they have designated to carry out the tasks arising from this
Directive.
The national regulatory authorities shall have as a particular task
ensuring compliance with the obligations arising from this Directiveand shall, where appropriate, establish controls and specific proceduresto ensure that the reserved services are respected. They may also be
charged with ensuring compliance with competition rules in the postal
sector.
CHAPTER 10
Finalprovisions
Article 23
Without prejudice to Article 7, every two years, on the first occasion
no later than 31 December 2004, the Commission shall submit a reportto the European Parliament and the Council on the application of thisDirective, including the appropriate information about developments inthe sector, particularly concerning economic, social, employment and
technological aspects, as well as about quality of service. The report
shall be accompanied where appropriate by proposals to the EuropeanParliament and the Council.
Article 24
Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and admin-
istrative provisions necessary to comply withth is Directive not laterthan 12 months after the date of its entry into force. They shall forth-with inform the Commission thereof.1997L0067 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 16
(1) Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures
for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (OJ
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When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a refer-
ence to this Directive or be accompanied by such reference on theoccasion of their official publication.
Article 25
This Directive shall enter into force on the 20th day following that of
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
Article 26
1. This Directive shall not prevent any Member State from main-
taining or introducing measures which are more liberal than those
provided for by this Directive. Such measures must be compatiblewithth e Treaty.
2. Should this Directive lapse, the measures taken by the Member
States to implement it may be maintained, to the extent that they arecompatible withth e Treaty.
Article 27
The provisions of this Directive, with the exception of Article 26, shall
expire on 31 December 2008 unless otherwise decided in accordance
with Article 7(3). The authorisation procedures described in Article 9shall not be affected by this date.
Article 28
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1997L0067 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 17
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ANNEX
Qualitystandardsforintra-Communitycross-bordermail
The quality standards for intra-Community cross-border mail in each country are
to be established in relation to the time limit for routing measured from end to
end (*) for postal items of the fastest standard category according to the formula
formula D + n, where D represents the date of deposit (**) and n the number of
working days which elapse between that date and that delivery to the addressee.
Quality standards for intra-Community cross-border mail
Time limit Objective
D + 3 85 % of items
D + 5 97 % of items
The standards must be achieved not only for the entirety of intra-Community
traffic but also for eachof th e bilateral flows between two Member States.1997L0067 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 002.001 — 18
(*) End-to-end routing is measured from the access point to the network to the point of
delivery to the addressee.
(**) The date of deposit to be taken into account shall be the same day as that on which
the item is deposited, provided that deposit occurs before the last collection time noti-fied from the access point to the network in question. When deposit takes place afterthis time limit, the date of deposit to be taken into consideration will be that of the
following day of collection.