1. With effect from 1 January 2009 Member States shall not grant or maintain in force exclusive or special rights for the establishment and the provision of postal services. Member States may finance the provision of universal services in accordance with one or more of the means provided for in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, or in accordance with any other means compatible with the EC Treaty. 2. Member States may ensure the provision of universal services by procuring such services in accordance with applicable public procurement rules. 3. Where a Member State determines that the universal service obligations, as provided for by this Directive, entail a net cost and represent an unfair financial burden for the universal service provider(s), it may: (a) Introduce a mechanism to compensate the undertaking(s) concerned from public funds; (b) Share the net cost of universal service obligations between providers of services and/or users. 4. Where the net cost is shared under paragraph 3(b), Member States may establish a compensation fund which may be funded by service providers' and/or users' fees, and is administered for this purpose by a body independent of the beneficiary or beneficiaries. Member States may make the granting of authorisations to service providers under Article 9(2) subject to an obligation to make a financial contribution to that fund or to comply with universal service obligations. Only those services set out in Article 3 may be financed in this way. 5. Member States shall ensure that the principles of transparency, non-discrimination and proportionality are respected in establishing the compensation fund and when fixing the level of the financial contributions referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4. Decisions taken under paragraphs 3 and 4 shall be based on objective and verifiable criteria and be made public.'

1. With effect from 1 January 2009 31 December 2010Member States shall not grant or maintain in force exclusive or special rights for the establishment and the provision of postal services. Member States may finance the provision of universal services in accordance with one or more of the means provided for in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, or in accordance with any other means compatible with the EC Treaty. 2. Member States may ensure the provision of universal services by procuring such services in accordance with applicable public procurement rules. 3. Where a Member State determines that the universal service obligations, as provided for by this Directive, entail a net cost and represent an unfair financial burden for the universal service provider(s), it may: (a) Introduce a mechanism to compensate the undertaking(s) concerned from public funds; (b) Share the net cost of universal service obligations between providers of services and/or users. 4. Where the net cost is shared under paragraph 3(b), Member States may establish a compensation fund which may be funded by service providers' and/or users' fees, and is administered for this purpose by a body independent of the beneficiary or beneficiaries. Member States may make the granting of authorisations to service providers under Article 9(2) subject to an obligation to make a financial contribution to that fund or to comply with universal service obligations. Only those services set out in Article 3 may be financed in this way. 5. Member States shall ensure that the principles of transparency, non-discrimination and proportionality are respected in establishing the compensation fund and when fixing the level of the financial contributions referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4. Decisions taken under paragraphs 3 and 4 shall be based on objective and verifiable criteria and be made public.' 6. where it believes that none of the above-mentioned arrangements guarantees the long-term financing of the universal service's net costs, a Member State may, for a transitional period, continue to reserve certain services for the designated universal service provider. The services that may be reserved are collection, sorting, transport and delivery of normal domestic mail and of incoming cross-border mail, whether express or not, within the following weight/price limits. The weight limit will be set at 50 grams from 1 January 2009. This weight limit will not apply if the price is equal to or greater than two-and-a-half times the public tariff for an item of correspondence in the first weight step of the fastest category. With regard to free services for blind and partially sighted persons, price/weight limit derogations may be authorised. Insofar as is necessary in order to maintain universal service, e.g. owing to the specific nature of the postal services of a Member State, outgoing cross-border mail may continue to be reserved within the same weight/price limits. 7. The Commission shall carry out a study aimed at assessing the effectiveness of all means of financing on the basis of best practices applied in Member States, and whether or not the universal service meets customer needs.Based on the conclusions of this study and before 31 December 2010, the Commission shall present, following a broad consultation of all stakeholders, a report to the European Parliament and to the Council, together with a proposal confirming, where appropriate, the date of 2012 for full accomplishment of the internal market of Community postal services.