WRITTEN QUESTION E-3259/00

by Brice Hortefeux (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(20 October 2000)

Subject: Revision of the postal directive impact on employment

In the proposal for a directive (COM(2000) 319 final) the European Commission put forward a number of figures for the consequences on employment of the liberalisation options envisaged. Given that the postal sector employs 1,4 million people in Europe, the social consequences of the Commission's proposal should be the subject of a specific and thorough evaluation but the proposal fails to provide such an analysis.

1. Can the Commission say what studies it took as a basis for its assessment of the social consequences of the proposal?

2. Can the Commission guarantee that its proposals will not jeopardise employment in the postal sector?

3. As the paragraph on employment in its proposal is somewhat succinct, can the Commission provide data on the consequences on employment in the postal sector for each Member State of the European Union?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(5 December 2000)

1. The social consequences of the proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive, amending Directive 97/67/EC with regard to the further opening to competition of Community postal services, are assessed on the basis of experience in certain Member States which, in opening their postal sector to competition, have gone beyond the provisions of 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(1), and the study entitled Employment trends in the European postal sector carried out by Price Waterhouse in May 1997(2). This information has been updated with information received subsequently from the economic operators. Moreover, in order to have up-to-date information in future, the Commission is about to launch a study on this issue as part of its periodic assessments of sectoral trends.

2. The Commission's proposal involves introducing a gradual and controlled opening of the postal services market. The proposed opening of the market, with effect from 2003, represents on average 20 % of the postal services revenues of the universal service operators. Experience shows that the existing operators should retain the largest share of trade open to competition (80-90 %). Moreover, it is helpful to recall that seven Member States have already set about opening the market, going further than the requirements of the Postal Directive. Because of this, the impact of the proposed opening of the market on employment should be limited and will certainly not jeopardise employment in the sector.

3. Further to the general trend mentioned above, the development of employment in the postal sector of each Member State will depend on many factors, such as the current extent of market opening, the achievements of existing operators, mergers and acquisitions or even market growth. The Commission has detailed data on each Member State as published by the national authorities, and these supplement the information provided by the above-mentioned study.

(1) OJ L 15, 21.1.1998.

(2) http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/postal/evolframe/studies/pwc1.pdf.