COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2021/1827

of 18 October 2021

on standards for postal services and the improvement of quality of service in support of Directive 97/67/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on European standardisation, amending Council Directives 89/686/EEC and 93/15/EEC and Directives 94/9/EC, 94/25/EC, 95/16/EC, 97/23/EC, 98/34/EC, 2004/22/EC, 2007/23/EC, 2009/23/EC and 2009/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Decision 87/95/EEC and Decision No 1673/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (1), and in particular Article 10(6) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) In accordance with Article 20 of Directive 97/67/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) Member States are to ensure that universal service providers refer to the standards published in the Official Journal of the European Union where necessary in the interests of users and in particular when they supply the information referred to in Article 6 of that Directive.

(2) The Commission issued a standardisation mandate, M/428, in the field of postal services on 9 October 2008. By Commission Implementing Decision C(2016) 4876 (3) the Commission made a request to the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) for the drafting and revision of European standards or European standardisation deliverables in support of the implementation of Article 20 of Directive 97/67/EC and in support of Action 5 of the Commission Communication titled ‘A roadmap for completing the single market for parcel delivery Build trust in delivery services and encourage online sales’ (4).

(3) On the basis of the request set out in Implementing Decision C(2016) 4876, CEN revised standard EN 13850:2012 on measurement of the transit time of end-to-end services for single piece priority mail and first class mail and replaced it with EN 13850:2020; revised EN 14012:2008 on complaints handling principles and replaced it with EN 14012:2019; revised EN 14615:2005 on digital postage marks to adapt it to the new requirements of secured data printing and replaced it with EN 14615:2017; revised EN 14142-1:2011 and CEN/TR 14142-2:2011 to adapt them to the new international standard ISO 19160-4:2017 on addressing (International postal address components and template language) and replaced them with EN ISO 19160-4:2017.

(4) On the basis of the request set out in standardisation mandate M/428 of 9 October 2008, CEN revised standard EN 14508:2003+A1:2007 on transit time for non-priority mail and replaced it with EN 14508:2016; revised EN 14534:2003+A1:2007 on transit time for bulk mail and replaced it with EN 14534:2016 as corrected by EN 14534:2016/AC:2017, and corrected EN 13724:2013 on apertures of private letter boxes and letter plates by publishing a corrigendum EN 13724:2013/AC:2016.

(5) The references of standards EN 13850:2012, EN 14012:2008, EN 14142:2011, EN 14508:2003+A1:2007, EN 14534:2003+A1:2007, EN 14615:2005 and EN 13724:2013 have been published by Commission communication 2015/C 159/01 (5).

(6) The Commission, together with CEN, has assessed whether the standards EN 13850:2020, EN 14012:2019, EN 14615:2017, and EN ISO 19160-4:2017 comply with the request set out in Implementing Decision C(2016) 4876.

(7) The Commission, together with CEN, has assessed whether the standards EN 14508:2016 and EN 14534:2016 as corrected by EN 14534:2016/AC:2017 comply with the request set out in standardisation mandate M/428 of 9 October 2008.

(8) Standards EN 13850:2020, EN 14012:2019, EN 14615:2017, EN ISO 19160-4:2017, EN 14508:2016 and EN 14534:2016 corrected by EN 14534:2016/AC:2017 satisfy the requirement of continued harmonisation of technical standards as referred to in Directive 97/67/EC. It is therefore appropriate to publish the references of those standards and the corrigendum EN 13724:2013/AC:2016 to EN 13724:2013 in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(9) Standards EN 13850:2020, EN 14012:2019, EN 14615:2017, EN ISO 19160-4:2017, EN 14508:2016 and EN 14534:2016 as corrected by EN 14534:2016/AC:2017 replace standards EN 13850:2012, EN 14012:2008, EN 14615:2005, EN 14142-1:2011, EN 14508:2003+A1:2007 and EN 14534:2003+A1:2007. It is therefore necessary to withdraw the references of standards EN 13850:2012, EN 14012:2008, EN 14615:2005, EN 14142-1:2011, EN 14508:2003+A1:2007 and EN 14534:2003+A1:2007 from the Official Journal of the European Union.

(10) In the interests of clarity and legal certainty, a complete list of references of technical standards drafted in support of Directive 97/67/EC should be published in one act. The other references of technical standards published by Communication 2015/C 159/01 should therefore also be included in this Decision. It is therefore appropriate to repeal that Communication,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1 The references of technical standards for postal services and the improvement of quality of service drafted in support of Directive 97/67/EC and listed in the Annex to this Decision are hereby published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 2 Communication 2015/C 159/01 is repealed.

Article 3 This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Done at Brussels, 18 October 2021. For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 316, 14.11.2012, p. 12.

(2) Directive 97/67/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 1997 on common rules for the development of the internal market of Community postal services and the improvement of quality of service (OJ L 15, 21.1.1998, p. 14).

(3) Commission Implementing Decision C(2016) 4876 of 1 August 2016 on a standardisation request to the European Committee of Standardization as regards postal services and the improvement of quality of service in support of Directive 97/67/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 1997.

(4) COM(2013) 886 final of 16 December 2013.

(5) Commission communication in the framework of the implementation of the Directive 97/67/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 1997 on common rules for the development of the internal market of Community postal services and the improvement of quality of service (Publication of titles and references of technical standards within the meaning of Article 20 of the Directive) (OJ C 159, 13.5.2015, p. 1).