WRITTEN QUESTION P-2474/00

by Pasqualina Napoletano (PSE) to the Commission

(13 July 2000)

Subject: Funding of the universal service

The Directorate-General for Competition has brought infringement proceedings against the Italian State in connection with the legislative decree transposing the Postal Directive of 1997, with particular reference to certain categories of postal services considered distinct and separate from conventional services.

To consider these services as non-universal and hence not eligible to be reserved for one particular company would mean leaving the universal service provider with only the structurally unprofitable sections of the service, in particular delivery services, characterised by low volume and high unit costs.

Since the services dealt with in the proceedings account overall for more than 80 % of the turnover produced by the area reserved exclusively for Poste Italiane SpA in order to maintain the universal postal service, has the Commission assessed the effects of the proceedings on the economic and financial equilibrium of the supplier of the universal service and hence on the quality of postal services throughout Italy and on employment levels in Poste Italiane SpA.?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(21 September 2000)

With respect to the background of the infringement proceedings launched by the Commission against Italy, the Commission would refer the Honourable member to its answer to written question P-2132/00 by Mr Nobilia(1).

The services at issue in the proceedings do not form part of the universal service or the reserved area in any Member State. The special services at issue in the proceedings provide specific added-value characteristics and do not form part of the universal service as defined in the 1997 Postal Directive. Under the 1997 Postal Directive(2), services that do not form part of the universal service cannot be reserved to the universal service provider. Therefore, the proceedings against Italy do not aim to liberalise these services but to maintain the competitive situation in Italy that existed prior to the entry into force of Decree No 261/99. By virtue of the Postal Directive, the specific value-added services do not form part of the universal service in any other Member State either.

In addition, the activities of private operators will be limited to the value-added services covered in the proceedings. As most letter mail services are and will remain standard services, the share of value-added letter mail services covered by the Commission's proceedings will be small compared to the overall letter mail volume which remains within the scope of the monopoly. The Commission's proceedings will therefore have no effect on the financial equilibrium of Poste Italiane.

(1) See p. 155.

(2) Directive 97/67/EC of the 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) at recital 21: whereas new services (services quite distinct from conventional services) and document exchange do not form part of the universal service and consequently there is no justification for their being reserved to the universal service provider.