Proposal for a EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL DIRECTIVE on common rules for the development of Community postal services and the improvement of quality of service
Date: 1995-07-26
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: harmonisation of standards, postal service, provision of services, quality standard, single market

COMMISSION  OF THE  EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

* * * ** 

** 

** 

Brussels,  26.07.1995 
COM(95)  227  final 

95/0221  (COD) 

COMMUNICATION  FROM THE  COMMISSION 

on the  set of  measures proposed  for the  development  of  Community  postal  services 

Proposal  for a 
EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT  AND  COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 

on  common  rules for the development  of  Community  postal  services 
and the improvement  of  quality  of  service 

(presented  by the  Commission) 

COMMUNICATION  FROM  THE  COMMISSION 

on  the  set  of  measures  proposed  for  the  development  of  Community  postal  services 

1. 

2. 

3. 

(i) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

importance  for  many  social  and  economic  activities 

Postal  services  constitute  an  essential  means  of  communication  and  trade  and  are  thus 
of  a  vital 
the 
Community.  In  the  Community,  postal  services  generate  about  1.3%  of  GDP  and 
employ  about  1.8  million  workers  of  which  1.4  million  are  employed  by  the  public 
postal  operators.  Postal  services  in  the  Community  comprise  80  billion  items  of  mail 
per  year,  of  which  3 billion  constitute  intra-Community  cross-border  mail.  An  efficient 
postal  sector  in  Europe  is  to  be  considered  as  an  important  prerequisite  for  the  further 
development  of competitivity  and  employment  in the European  economy.  It is of  utmost 
importance  to  guarantee  within  the  whole  Community  the  maintenance  of  a  good 
quality  universal  service  accessible  for  all  users  at  affordable  prices.  The  financial 
viability  of  such  universal  service  must  be  ensured. 

throughout 

The  completion  of  the  internal  market  for  the  postal  sector  requires  the  further 
development  of  the  Community  postal  services  and  in  particular  the  implementation  of 
the fundamental  principles of freedom  to provide services and freedom  of  establishment. 
It  is therefore  essential  that  competition  can  play  an  important  role  in  this  sector  of  the 
economy  as  well,  and  that  there  is  a  level  playing  field  for  all  economic  actors 
concerned. 

In  the  Commission's  "Green  Paper  on  the  development  of  a  single  market  for 
postal  servicesl,(1)  of  11  June  1992  and  the  subsequent  public  consultations  which  led 
to  the  Commission's  Communication  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on 
Guidelines  for  the  development  of  Community  postal  services(2)  of  2  June  1993,  a 
number  of  problems  were  identified  which  require  action  at  Community  level.  The 
European  Parliament,  in  its  Resolutions  of  22  January,  25  June  and  29  October  1993 
and  14  July  1995  invited  the  Commission  to  submit  proposals  for  the  sector(3).  The 
Council,  in  its Resolution  of  7 February  1994  on the  development  of  Community  postal 
services(4), invited  the Commission  to propose  the measures  necessary  for  implementing 
a  Community  policy  on  postal  services.  These  measures  should  refer  specifically  to  the 
definition  of  the  universal  service,  the  obligations  of  the  providers  of  the  universal 
service,  the  definition  of  services  which  may  be  reserved  to  the  universal  service 
providers,  the  quality  of  the  universal  service,  and  required  technical  standardization. 
The  Council  stressed  that the  measures proposed  should  be transparent,  simple  and  easy 
to  manage,  to  ensure  the  best  possible  conditions  of  monitoring  and  enforcement. 

In  this  context,  the  Commission  submits  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the 
Social  and  Economic  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  the  attached 
package  of  measures,  which  consists  of  a  "Proposal  for  a  European  Parliament  and 
Council  Directive  establishing  common  rules  for the  development  of Community  postal 
services  and  improvement  of  quality  of  service"  and  a  draft  "Notice  on  the  application 
of  the  competition  rules  to  the  postal  sector  and  in  particular  on  the  assessment  of 
to  postal  services".  This  package  constitutes  a 
certain  state  measures  relating 
comprehensive  approach  for  establishing,  for  the  first  time  at  Community  level,  a 
universal  postal  service  and  gradual  liberalization  and  opening  up  of  the  postal  market 
to  more  competition.  This  will  have  to  occur  in  two  stages  in  order  to  give  the 
providers  of  this  service  sufficient  time  to  adapt  to  the  new  situation.  Harmonization 

COM(91)  476  final. 
COM(93)  247  final. 
OJ  No  C  42,  15.2.1993,  p.  240,  OJ  No  C  194,  19.7.1993  p.  397,  OJ  No  C  315, 
22.11.1993,  p.  643,  OJ  No  C 
O J No  C  48,  16.2.1994,  p.  3. 

measures  in  the  postal  sector  will  have  to  go  together  with  gradual  liberalization,  as 
requested  by  the  Council. 

The  proposed  Directive  and  the  draft  Notice  are  complementary  to  each  other.  While 
the  proposed  Directive  will  provide  for  a  harmonized  regulatory  framework  at 
Community  level  for  the  postal  sector,  the  Notice  seeks  to  provide  the  actors  in  this 
sector  with  the  necessary  clarity  as  regards  the  application  of  the  Treaty  rules.  It  will 
make  it easier  for  Member  States and  for  undertakings to  assess whether  their  individual 
rules  or  their  behaviour  are  consistent  with  the  Treaty  provisions,  especially  those  on 
competition  and  freedom  to  provide  services  and  freedom  of  establishment.  Both 
documents,  the  proposal  for  a Directive  and  the  draft  Notice,  build  on  the  results  of  the 
public  consultation  following  the  submission  of  the  Commission's  Green  Paper,  as  well 
as on  the objectives  set  out  by  the  Council  Resolution  of  7 February  1994, and  are  fully 
in  line  with  the  principle  of  subsidiarity. 

The  proposed  European  Parliament  and  Council  Directive  based  on  Article  100a of  the 
EC  Treaty  aims  at  the  introduction  of  harmonized  provisions  for  universal  postal 
the  universal  service  providers,  the 
services,  services  that  may  be  reserved  for 
improvement  of  quality  of  service,  the  promotion  of  standardization  and  related  issues. 

The  proposed  Directive  provides  for  a  minimum  mandatory  universal  service  to  be 
provided  throughout  the  Community  to  all  citizens,  wherever  they  are  located,  at 
affordable  prices,  and  for  a  high  degree  of  quality  to  be  guaranteed  to  all  users  of 
universal  service.  These  provisions  are  very 
important  for  remote  areas  within 
Member  States  and  for  penpheral  regions  of  the  Community.  Currently,  universal 
service  obligations  and  quality  of  service  are  not  always  explicitly  defined  in  national 
legislation  or  administrative  rules,  so  that  it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  enforce  them. 
Where  there  is  not  a  well-functioning  basic  postal  service,  people  and  businesses  have 
to  rely  on  express  services  and  pay  much  higher  prices  in  order  to  get  a reliable,  timely 
service.  This  risk  is  higher  the  further  the  point  of  posting  is  away  from  the  main 
business-centres.  The  proposed  Directive  will  oblige  those  Member  States  which  at 
present  do not  have  strict  rules  on  universal  service  and  quality  of  service, to  introduce 
such  obligations  for  the  universal  service  providers.  These  will  be  for  the  benefit  of 
users  (both  senders  and  receivers)  and  especially  those  located  in remote  and  peripheral 
areas. 

In  order  to  ensure the  financial  viability  of  the  universal  service, the proposed  Directive 
defines  harmonized  criteria  for  the  services  which  may  be  reserved  to  the  universal 
service  providers  to  the  extent  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  the  universal  service, 
i.e.  collection,  transport,  sorting  and  distribution  of  domestic  mail  which  does not  weigh 
more  than  350  grammes  and  where  the  tariff  is below  five  times the basic  tariff  (that  is 
to  say  the  tariff  for  letters  up  to  20  grammes). 

Outgoing  cross-border  mail  which  is already  de facto  liberalized  in most Member  States 
will  be  excluded  from  the  reservable  services. 

Incoming  cross-border  mail  may  continue  to be reserved  until  31 December  2000 if  this 
is necessary  for  the  financial  viability  of the  universal  service provider.  Incoming  cross-
border  mail  represents,  as  an  average  in  the  Community,  4%  of  volume  and  3%  of 
revenues  of  the  public  postal  operators  for  their  letter  service.  Therefore,  the  opening 
up  to  competition  of  this  market  segment  can  be  expected  to  have  a  limited  impact 
only,  thus  not  endangering  the  viability  of  the  universal  service  providers;  it  would, 
however,  constitute  a  significant  step  forward  towards  the  realization  of  the  internal 
market  for  postal  services.  Member  States  could  provide  for  the  introduction  of  an 
objective,  transparent  and  non-discriminatory  system  of  licences,  in  order  to  avoid 
abusive  diversion  of  domestic  traffic  from  the  reserved  area. 

Direct  mail  may  continue  to  be  reserved  until  31  December  2000  if  this  is  necessary 
for  the  financial  viability  of  the  universal  provider.  On  average,  direct  mail  represents 
in  the  Community  17% of  volume  and  12% of  revenues  of  the  public  postal  operators 
for  their  letter  service. This  segment  of  the  market  has  a high  rate  of  growth  and  a  large 
majority  of  Posts  apply  specific  tariffs  for  these  items.  The  risk  for  the  Posts  of  the 
establishment  of  alternative  networks  for  the  delivery  of  direct  mail  is  reduced  since 
they  benefit  from  very  important  economies  of  scale  by  using  the  same  existing 
universal  network  to  deliver  other  types  of  correspondence.  The  delivery  of  direct  mail 
is  already  liberalized  in  some  Member  States,  where  experience  shows  that  the  public 
postal  operators  have  been  able  to  maintain  a  dominant  position  on  this  market  despite 
competition,  and  that  any  control  problems  arising  can  be  overcome 

The  Commission  will  decide  by  30  June  1998  whether  it  is  appropriate  to  keep  direct 
mail  and  incoming  cross-border  mail  in the  reserved  area  even  after  31 December  2000, 
taking 
in  particular  economic,  social  and 
technological  developments,  which  have  occurred  in  the  postal  sector  in  the  meantime 
and  taking  also  into  consideration  the  financial  viability  of  the  universal  service 
provider(s). 

the  developments, 

into  consideration 

During  the  first  half  of  the year  2000  at  the  latest  a major  review  will  take  place  on  the 
scope  of  the  reserved  area. 

With  regard  to  tariffs,  the  proposed  Directive  requires  that  Member  States  implement 
the  principles  of  affordability  and  cost-orientation  for  tariffs  for  the  universal  service. 
However,  Member  States  may  decide  that  for  every  service  that  forms  part  of  the 
universal  service  a  uniform  tariff  is  to  be  applied  on  their  territory. 

Operators  providing  the  universal  service  are  to  be  subject  to  an  obligation  to  establish 
transparent  cost  accounting  systems  as  well  as  separate  accounts  for  reserved  services 
on  the  one  hand,  and  non  reserved  services  on  the  other  hand. 

As  regards  the  establishment  of  service  quality  standards,  the  Member  States  will  be 
responsible  for  the  establishment  of  quality  standards  for  the  national  service,  which 
have  to  be  consistent  with  Community  standards,  while  the  Commission  will,  assisted 
by  an  Advisory  Committee  composed  of  Representatives  of  the  15 Member  States,  set 
out  the  quality  standards  for  intra-Community  cross-border  services. 

As  regards  the  harmonization  of  technical  standards,  the  proposed  Directive  sets  out  a 
procedure  allowing  for  the  elaboration  and  adoption  of  harmonized  standards  on  the 
basis  of  mandates  entrusted  to  the  European  Committee  for  Standardization. 

Finally,  and  in conformity  with  the principle  of separation  of  regulatory  and  operational 
functions,  the  proposed  Directive  requires  the  establishment  of  a  national  regulatory 
authority  independent  of  the  postal  operators  in  all  Member  States. 

The  Court  of  Justice  has  recognized  that  the  rules  of  the  EG  Treaty  and,  in  particular, 
its competition  rules, apply  to the postal  sector(5). The  Commission's  draft  Notice,  which 
is complementary  to the proposed  legislative  measure, sets out  and  explains  the  guiding 
principles  according  to  which  the  Commission  intends  to  apply  the  competition  rules 
of  the  Treaty 
the  gradual,  controlled 
in  order 
liberalization  of  the  postal  market  while  maintaining  the  necessary  safeguards  for  the 
provision  of  a universal  service.  It  takes  into  account  the  specificities  of  the  sector  and 

to  the  postal  sector, 

to  further 

See, in particular, Judgments  of  12 February  1992, The Netherlands  and Koninlijke  PTT 
Nederlands  NV  and  PTT  Post  BV  v  Commission.  Joined  Cases  C-48/90  and  C-66, 
[1992]  ECR  1-565  and  of  16  May  1993,  Paul 
Case  C - 3 2 0 / 9 1, 
[1993]  ECR  1-2533. 

Corbeau. 

5. 

(5) 

is  fully  in  line  with  the  approach  defined  in  the  Council  Resolution.  The  Notice  aims 
at  establishing  a  clear  and  reliable  framework  with  regard  to  the  future  application  of 
the  competition  rules,  which  can,  at  this  stage,  be  considered  sufficient  for  provision 
of  the  degree  of  legal  certainty  necessary  for  a  smooth  development  of  the  sector. 

In  particular,  the  Notice  sets  out  the  approach  the  Commission  intends  to  take  when 
addressing  the  compatibility  of  State  measures  restricting  the  freedom  to  provide 
services  and/or  to  compete  in  the  postal  markets  with  the  competition  rules  of  the 
Treaty.  It  confirms  the  Member  States'  right  to  maintain,  at  this  stage,  a  defined  area 
of  reserved  services.  In  addition,  it  addresses  the  issue  of  non-discriminatory  access  to 
the  postal  network  and  the  necessary  regulatory  safeguards  required  to  ensure  fair 
competition  in  the  sector. 

The  Commission  recognizes  that  the  postal  sector  is  critical  for  the  future  development 
of  the  European  economy.  At this  stage,  a balance  between  the requirements  of  a public 
service  and  the  application  of  competition  rules  has  to  be  developed  at  Community 
level  in  which  both  aspects  are  complementary  and  mutually  reinforcing. 

for 

the  postal 

The  Commission  aims  at  the  phased  development  of  a  comprehensive  Community 
policy 
the 
European  Parliament  and  the  Council  within  the  framework  of  the  Treaty,  and  in 
particular  its competition  rules, respecting  the  duties  assigned  to the Commission  by  the 
Treaty. 

legislation  adopted  by 

firmly  based  on 

sector, 

The  attached  measures  should  be  considered  as  a  first  step  of  a progressive  and  future-
oriented  policy  towards  the  completion  of  the  internal  market  and  the  development  of 
the  Community  postal  services.  It  is  with  this  objective  in  mind  that  this  set  of 
measures  is  submitted. 

Proposal  for a 
EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT AND  COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 

on common rales for the development of  Community  postal  services 
and the improvement of  quality  of  service 

EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

L 

CONTEXT 

This  proposal  for  a Directive  represents  the  result  of  a process  covering  several  stages  which 
can  be  summarized  as  follows: 

1. 

In  June  1992  the  Commission  published  a  Green  Paper  on  the  development  of  the 
single  market  for  postal  services^.  On  the  basis  of  this  document,  it  has  been  possible 
to  identify  three  major  objectives  in  the  postal  sector: 

search  for  a  balance  between,  on  the  one  hand,  the  need  for  a  universal  service 
to  all  users  together  with,  as  a 
providing  a  basic  postal  service  affordable 
corollary,  the  definition  of  a  range  of  services  which  may  be  reserved  for  the 
universal  service  providers  so  as  to  enable  them  to  provide  such  a  service  under 
sound  economic  conditions  and,  on  the  other  hand,  opening-up  of  the  sector  to 
more  competition  for  the  benefit  of  users; 

establishment  at  Community  level  of  common  obligations  for  those  providing 
universal  service,  especially  compliance  with  standards  which  guarantee  a  high 
quality  of  service; 

strengthening  the harmonization  of the basic services which  make up the universal 
service with  a view to providing  an  efficient  postal  service throughout  the  territory 
of  the  Community;  harmonization  of  the  conditions  of  access  to  the  postal 
services,  of  service quality  standards  and  of  the  monitoring  of  the performance  of 
the  universal  service. 

Large-scale  public  consultation  has  made  it  possible  to  hear  the  views  of  all  the 
the  national  governments,  users  and 
representatives  of 
parties  concerned: 
consumers,  operators,  trade  unions,  etc. 

2. 

A  year  later,  in  June  1993, the  Commission  submitted  to  the  European  Parliament  and 
the  Council  the  results  and  guidelines  which  had  emerged  from  this  consultation 
process,  through 
the  development  of 
Community  postal  services(2). 

its  Communication  on 

the  guidelines  for 

A  general  consensus  has  emerged  on  the  need  for  Community  action,  particularly  with 
regard  to: 

the  definition  of  the  universal  service  and  a  list  of  services  which  may  be 
reserved; 

common  criteria for  access  (non-discrimination,  transparency); 

separation  of  regulatory  and  operating  functions; 

common  specifications  with  regard  to  the  quality  of  services,  at  least  in  the  area 
reserved  for  the  universal  service  providers; 

technical  standardization. 

It was clear  that the Commission  Communication  constituted  only  an intermediate  stage 
in  the  wide-ranging  debate  on  the  future  development  of  postal  services. 

0) 

(2) 

COM(91)  476  final. 
COM(93)  247  final. 

3. 

4. 

In the course of  1993(3) the European  Parliament  adopted three resolutions on the postal 
sector. In these Resolutions the European Parliament invited the Commission to prepare, 
inter  alia,  a  set  of  proposals  for  the  development  of  the  single  market  for  the  postal 
sector  and,  in  particular,  to  establish  at  Community  level  a  common  definition  of  the 
mandatory  universal  service  and  a common  definition  of  the  reservable  sector  which, 
while  being  as  restricted  as  possible,  would  be  large  enough  to  enable  the  universal 
service  providers  to  offer  this  service  at  a reasonable  cost. 

In  its  Resolution  of  7  February  1994  on  the  development  of  Community  postal 
services(4)  the  Council,  supporting  the  general  approach  set  out  in  the  Commission's 
Green  Paper  on  the  development  of  the  single  market  for  postal  services,  and  the 
Communication  on  guidelines  for  the  development  of  Community  postal  services, laid 
down  the  objectives  for  this  development  and  invited  the  Commission  to  propose  the 
measures  necessary  for  the  implementation  without  delay  of  a  Community  policy  on 
postal  services, with  a view to adapting these services to the requirements of the single 
market  and  increasing  their  efficiency. 

The  Council  also  invited  the  Commission  "to  base  its  proposals  for  future  regulation 
of  postal  services  on  measures  which  are  transparent,  simple  and  easy  to  manage,  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  conditions  of  monitoring  and  enforcement". 

The  following  measures were  advocated: 

lasting guarantee of universal service which  can justify,  to the extent necessary  to 
maintain  the  universal  service,  exclusive  or  special  rights  for  the  benefit  of  the 
universal  service  providers; 

gradual  introduction of  more  competition  in  the  postal  services  market; 

establishment  of  quality  of  service  standards  which  meet  the  expectations  of 
European  users; 

development  of a policy for  the harmonization of technical standards with a view 
to improving the efficiency  and interconnection of postal networks, in the interests 
of  the  users; 

designation in  the postal  sector  of  independent national  regulatory  authorities. 

5. 

The development  of Community  policy in the postal sector is based on the idea that the 
provision  of  a postal  service  must  respect  the  following  general  principles: 

universality:  access  to  anyone,  anywhere,  at  affordable  prices; 

equality: under  equivalent  conditions,  all  users  are  entitled  to  identical  treatment; 

neutrality: treatment  is  independent  of  the  status  of  the  person  sending  the  mail; 

confidentiality:  inviolability  and  secrecy  of  postal  items; 

continuity:  provision  of  an  uninterrupted  service; 

adaptability:  any  service  to  be  adaptable  to  technical  progress  and  changes  in 
demand. 

(3) 

(4) 

OJ  No  C 42,  15.2.1993,  p.  240,  OJ  No  C  194,  19.7.1993,  p.  397,  OJ  No  C  315, 
22.11.1993, p. 643. 
OJNo  C 48,  16.2.1994, p. 3. 

IL 

PROPOSED  MEASURES 

1. 

RESPECT  OF  UNIVERSAL  SERVICE  OBLIGATIONS 

(a)  TTie  aim  of  the  universal  postal  service  is  to  meet  the  needs  of  users,  notably 
domestic  consumers, and to promote the economic  and social  development of the 
Community.  There is still  a long way to go towards ensuring  an optimum service 
in the  Community,  mainly  because  of  the  heterogeneity  and  disparities  between 
Member  States  both  as  regards  the  definition  of  the  obligations  comprising 
universal  service  and the availability  and  quality  of the services provided  and  the 
tariffs  applied. 

In  addition,  the  way  the  services  are  organized  penalizes  cross-border  trade  and 
seriously  hampers the establishment of the single market.  The average time taken 
for  the routing  and delivery  of a postal  item between  Member  States is more than 
four  working  days, whereas the time taken  for  domestic  mail  is significantly  less. 

Consequently, each Member State must ensure the application, on its territory, of 
minimum common  criteria adopted  at European  level  for the universal  service  -
albeit  allowing  for  enlargement  in  scope  in  accordance  with  the  principle  of 
subsidiarity. 

(b)  The postal  services provided  under  universal  service  obligation are subject to the 
obligation  of  transparency,  equal  access  and  non-discrimination,  notably  with 
regard  to: 

quality  of  service; 

the  setting  of  tariffs  and transparency  of  accounts; 

conditions  for access to  the  universal  service; 

characteristics  of  the  universal  service  (frequency  of  collections  and 
deliveries, points  of  contact,  etc.). 

2. 

IMPROVEMENT  OF  QUALITY  OF  SERVICE 

In  order  to  consolidate  and  improve.the  quality  of  service,  three  principles  will  be 
applied: 

laying-down  of  standards  by  the  Member  States  for  the  national  services,  and 
laying-down  of standards at a Community  level for  intra-Community  cross-border 
services; 

performance  monitoring,  to  be  carried  out  impartially  and  in  accordance  with 
harmonized  procedures,  by  bodies  not  involved  in  the provision  of  the  universal 
service; 

annual  publication of  results. 

These  quality  standards  will  concentrate  in  particular  on  delivery  times  and  on  the 
regularity  and reliability  of services. Furthermore, transparent procedures for  users will 
need  to  be  established  in  order  to  handle  complaints  relating  to  the  provision  of 
services. 

OPENING-UP  TO  MORE  COMPETITION 

(a)  The  maintenance  of a  reserved sector must be  compatible with the objective  of a 
gradual  opening-up  of  the  postal  market  to  competition  in  accordance  with  the 
rules  of  the  Treaty.  If  Member  States  are  obliged  to  guarantee  the  financial 
viability  of  the  postal  operators  responsible  for  providing  the  universal  service, 
they  are  equally  obliged  to  comply  with  Community  law  and,  in  particular,  the 
rules  on  competition,  pursuant  to  the  principle  of  proportionality. 

The extension of exclusive  or special rights requires an appropriate protection for 
consumers, taking  into  account the  provisions  of  Article  129a of  the Treaty. 

(b)  The  postal  services  liable  to  be reserved with  a  view  to  providing  a  universal 
service, to the extent  necessary  to maintain  such  a service, involve the collection, 
transport,  sorting  and  delivery  of  domestic  postal  items  subject  to  the  weight 
(350  grammes) and price (5 times the basic tariff)  limits laid down at Community 
level. 

The  following  services  cannot  be  included  in  the  reserved  area:  express  mail 
service,  delivery  of  postal  packages  (even  with  accompanying  postal  items)  and 
delivery  of  brochures,  catalogues, newspapers,  magazines, etc. 

New services shall be offered under free-market conditions, provided that they can 
be clearly  distinguished  and  differentiated  from  the reserved  service (on the basis 
of  an  assessment  by  the  national  regulatory  authority). 

Outgoing  cross-border mail that  is already  de facto  liberalized  in the  majority  of 
Member  States, can  no  longer  be  reserved  . 

The distribution of incoming cross-border and direct mail, a segment of the market 
with  a  high  rate  of  growth,. where  a  large  majority  of  public  postal  operators 
already  apply  specific  tariffs  for  these  items,  may  continue  to  be  reserved  until 
31 December  2000,  in  so  far  as  their  reservation  is  necessary  for  the  financial 
equilibrium  of  the  universal  service  provider(s).  The  Commission  will  decide on 
30 June  1998  at  the  latest,  on  the  appropriateness  on  maintaining  these  services 
within  the  reserved  area  after  31  December  2000,  taking  into  consideration  the 
development  of  the  sector,  in  particular  economic,  social  and  technological 
developments,  as  well  as  the  financial  equilibrium  of  the  universal  service 
provider(s). 

RE-EXAMINATION  IN THE  YEAR  2000 

A re-examination  of the extent of the reserved  area will  take place during the first  half 
of  the year  2000, at the  latest.  For  this  purpose, the  Commission  will  be assisted  by  a 
review  body  that  will  monitor  the  evolution  of  postal  activities  to  better  foresee  the 
implications  of  the  progressive  liberalization  of  the  sector. 

HARMONIZATION  OF  TECHNICAL  STANDARDS 

Work  must  continue,  in  line  with  the  process  of  international  standardization,  on  the 
harmonization of the technical standards needed to strengthen  network interoperability 
and  conceived  in  the  interests  of users. 

In  accordance  with  the  principles  set  out  in  Directive  83/189/EEC  in  the  field  of 
standards  and  technical  regulations,  responsibility  for  drawing  up  technical  standards 
applicable  to the  postal  sector  rests  with  the European  Committee  for  Standardization 
(CEN), acting on a mandate from  the Commission and after  consultation  with the actors 
concerned. 

10 

Accordingly,  an  initial  mandate  was  drawn  up in  1993 and  was the  subject  of  a report 
in  1994.  Specific  areas of  activity  in the  postal  sector  were  identified,  guidelines  were 
fixed,  and  a framework  was  worked  out  for  future  actions. 

6 

SEPARATION  OF  OPERATING  AND  REGULATORY  FUNCTIONS 

Furthermore,  it is essential  to separate operating  and regulatory functions  in the postal 
sector throughout the Community  in such  a way  as to ensure that the power to  regulate 
rests with  bodies  that  are  independent  of  the  undertakings  providing  the  universal 
service.  Tlie obligations  incumbent  on national  regulatory  authorities  in  ensuring  such 
separation  include  the  following: 

defining  regulatory  measures  encompassing  the  universal  service; 

determining  the  providers  of  the  universal  service; 

specifying  the obligations  and  defining  the  rights  of  the  universal  service 
providers; 

monitoring  the  conditions  of  competition  in the  postal  sector; 

publishing  findings  on  the  quality  of  services; 

ensuring  that  the  users  receive  equality  in  treatment; 

ensuring  that  there  are  simple  procedural  rules  in  case  of  complaints  from 
domestic  consumers. 

7. 

INDEPENDENCE  OF  UNIVERSAL  SERVICE  PROVIDERS 

It  is  important  that  the  universal  service  providers  should  have  the  commercial, 
operational  and  financial  independence  needed  to  ensure  efficient  compliance  with 
customer  requirements  and technological  developments  in  an increasingly  competitive 
environment. 

8. 

INTERFACE  WITH  OTHER  PARTS  OF THE  WORLD 

Lastly,  steps  must  be  taken  to  ensure  compatibility  between  Community  regulatory 
initiatives and initiatives in other parts of the world, with special reference  to decisions 
taken  in the framework  of the Universal  Postal Union  (UPU), and  in this way to make 
it  easier for  European  operators  to gain  access to markets outside  the Community,  and 
vice  versa. 

9. 

SOCIAL  AND  ECONOMIC  IMPACT  OF  THE  PROPOSED  MEASURES 

The  social  and  societal  dimensions  of  the  postal  sector  have  to  be  taken  duly 
into  account.  The  public  postal  operators  in  the  European  Union  employ  about 
1.4  million  people  and  with  the  addition  of  the  private  operators  this  figure  would 
increased  by  one  fifth. 

the  absolute levels vary  widely  from  one operator  to  another  according to  factors 
such  as  density  of  population,  postal  consumption  per  head,  the  mix  of  services 
offered  and  the  level  of  operating  efficiency  (globally  measured  by  items 
per  employee); 

there is a trend  for  employment  levels to  fall  over  time  (if  allowance  is made  for 
the impact of re-unification  on the German public operator) reflecting  productivity 
gains  (as traffic  levels  are  generally  increasing  also). 

11 

The  postal  sector  is  in  transformation  due  to  the  technological  evolution  in  the  sector 
itself,  but  also  and  above  all,  in  the  sector  of  telecommunications.  The  international 
situation  is  characterized  by  a  strong  trend  for  modernization  and  opening  up  of  the 
postal  markets  as emphasized  by  the  last  Universal  Postal  Union  Congress  in  1994. 

The  real  threat  to  all  postal  operators  -  be  they  public  or  private  -  in  the  medium  to 
long-term  will  come  from  other  communication  means  (faxes,  e-mail,  data  networks, 
etc.).  It  can  be assumed  that only  if  the public  postal  operators  adapt  their  structure to 
be  able  to  compete  with  private  operators  in  the  short-term,  will  they  get  the  strength 
to  face  the  even  more  challenging  competitive  situation  in  the  long-term.  This 
adaptation  process  will  lead  to job  losses  for  the  postal  operators. 

Liberalization  of the postal sector should recognize the possibility that private operators 
will hire staff  to undertake the same activities as the public operators. Experience of the 
growth of the express service market since the 1970s has demonstrated that employment 
in  the  sector  as  a  whole  can  actually  increase  rather  thari  fall  as  a  result  of 
liberalization,  as well  as  leading  to  improvements  in  competitiveness. 

Improvements  in efficiency  in the postal  sector  can be expected to improve the general 
competitiveness  of  economic  activities  for  services  where  postal  costs  are  significant 
(for  example, mail  order  goods)  and  this will  strengthen  the  economy  as a whole  thus 
creating  a favourable  climate  for  new  employment. 

It  is  difficult  accurately  to  foresee  the  economic  and  social  impact  of  opening  up  the 
various  market  segments  to  competition,  since  the  future  behaviour  of  the  relevant 
parties  in  a  liberalized  market,  subject  to  strong  technological  evolution,  cannot  be 
predicted.  The  Commission  will  take  the needed  steps to  monitor  this  evolution. 

The  experiences  in  countries  which  have  already  liberalized  postal  services  show  that 
the smooth  evolution  towards  an  efficient,  competitive postal  service is possible, if the 
opening of the market is phased over  a number of years  and accompanied  by  measures 
such  as voluntary  redundancy. 

ffl.  ASSESSMENT  OF  THE  PROPOSED  MEASURES  IN  THE  LIGHT  OF  THE 

PRINCIPLE OF SUBSIDIARITY 

1. 

Objectives  of  the  action  envisaged 

The  principal  objective  of  the  action  envisaged  is  to  guarantee  in  the  whole 
European  Union  the  long-term  provision  of  a  good  quality  universal  service  at 
affordable  prices,  accessible  to  all,  for  which  financing  is  assured  and  durable.  In 
particular,  the  alignment  of  conditions  governing the  supply  of  postal  services and  the 
removal  of legal  and technical  barriers to cross-border  trade, are obligations  which  are 
incumbent  on  the  Community  in  order  to  attain  the  internal  market.  This  Directive  is 
conceived  as  an  instrument  which  seeks, in  accordance  with  Article  7a of  the  Treaty, 
to  establish  the internal  market  comprising  an  area  without  internal  frontiers  in  which 
the free  movement of goods, persons, services and capital is assured. The Directive will 
establish  a framework  in  which  national  initiatives  can  be  taken. 

2. 

Community  dimension  of  the  problem 

All  the  Member  States  are  concerned,  and  all  citizens  and  moral  persons  in  the 
Community  will  benefit  from  the  proposed  measures  which  will  have  the  effect  of 
improving  the  efficiency  and  performance  of  postal  services. 

Postal  traffic  in  the  Community  involves  80 billion  items  per  year,  some  3 billion  of 
which  are  associated  with  intra-Community  trade.  On  average,  each  citizen  in  the 
Community  receives  300  postal  items  a year. 

12 

Up  to  now  postal  administrations  have  initiated  a  number  of  harmonization  actions. 
However  the  limitations  of  this  activity  have  become  apparent,  partly  because  the 
measures  taken  do  not  have  binding  force.  As  regards  the  area  of  quality  of  cross-
border  services,  in  particular,  no significant  progress  has been  made over  the past  few 
years  (cf. results  of  the joint  studies  carried  out  by  the  EBCU  and  the  Commission  in 
1990  and  1993). 

3. 

Necessity  for  Community  action 

Member  States  have  at  their  disposal  relatively  less  effective  means  to  achieve  rapid 
results,  especially  as  regards  the  improvement  of  cross-border  mail  and  the  area  of 
technical  standardization.  The  only  alternative  to  Community  legislation  would  be 
a  system  of  bilateral  agreements  which  would  be  difficult  to  achieve  between  all 
Member  States. 

Any attempt by Member States to embark on uncoordinated  action could have the  effect 
of  hampering  the  proper  functioning  of  the  internal  postal  market. 

Failure  to take  action  would  result  in  a widening  of  the gap  between  situations  which 
are  already  highly  divergent  and  would  make  it  more  difficult  for  the  internal  market 
to  function.  In  addition,  it  cannot  be  excluded 
that  a  two-speed  Europe  in 
postal  services  would  be  the  result:  a  Europe  of  the  North  with  relatively  efficient 
services,  and  a Europe  of  the  South  offering  users  an  inadequate  level  of  services. 

Failure  to  act  would  also  have  an  indirect  but  significant  impact  on  other  economic 
sectors that  are particularly  dependent  on  the  postal  services. 

Lastly,  it  would  be  prejudicial  to  social  and  economic  cohesion.  In  particular,  the 
socia  role  of  the  postal  service,  especially  in  remote  areas,  and  its  role  for  regional 
planning,  are not  insignificant. 

4. 

Action  open  to  the  Community:  potential  benefits  of  a  Directive 

The  formulation  of  a  recommendation  will  not  suffice  in  this  case,  mainly  because 
postal  administrations  depend  on  one  another  to  ensure  the  cross-border  service.  It  is 
therefore  essential  that  all  Member  States  participate  in  the  action  envisaged.  Indeed, 
they expressed their intention of doing so in the Council Resolution of 7 February  1994 
inviting 
in  this  area.  The 
Telecommunications  Council  of  13  June  1995  has  re-affirmed  the  urgent  necessity  to 
have  available  a  regulatory  framework  for  postal  services  in  the  interests  of  all  the 
parties  active  in  the postal  sector. 

to  propose  Community  measures 

the  Commission 

This proposal  for  a Directive sets out general  rules and lays down basic principles. The 
provisions  envisaged  constitute  a minimum  basis  of  harmonized  measures. 

It  is  a  matter  for  the  Member  States  to  transpose  these  Community  provisions  into 
national  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions  and  to  determine  the  exact 
modalities  for  the  system  best  suited  to  their  own  situation. 

IV.  STRUCTURE OF THE DIRECTIVE 

After  establishing  the  objectives  and  area  of  application  in  Chapter  1,  the  Directive 
provides  in  Chapter  2  a  definition  of  the  universal  service  to  be  guaranteed  by  each 
Member  State on  its  territory. 

Chapter  3  sets out  the  principles  governing  the  harmonization  of  services  which  may 
be  reserved  for  the  universal  service provider(s),  in  order  to  ensure the  functioning  of 
the  reserved  service  under  properly  balanced  financial  conditions. 

13 

Chapter  4  concerns  the  conditions  for  the provision  of  non-reserved  services  and  access 
to  the  network. 

Chapter  5  defines  the  tariff  principles  applicable  to  the  universal  service  as  well  as  the 
transparency  of  the  accounts  of  the  universal  service  providers. 

Chapter  6  seeks  to  lay  down  quality  standards  for  the  national  and  intra-Community 
cross-border  services  in  order  to  respond  better  to  the  expectations  of  the  users  of  the 
universal  service. 

Chapter  7 introduces  a mechanism  which  will be developed  by the European  Committee 
for  Standardization  (CEN)  to encourage the technical  standardization  needed to  improve 
the  interoperability  of  postal  networks  and  the  quality  of  service  provided  for  users. 

Chapter  8  deals  with  consultations  involving  interested  parties  in  the  sector.  An 
Advisory  Committee  responsible  for  assisting  the  Commission  on  matters  relating  to 
quality  of  service  and  technical  standardization  will  be  set  up  for  this  purpose. 

Chapter  9 provides for  the creation  of  a national  regulatory  authority  independent  of  the 
postal  operators. 

Chapter  10  stipulates,  apart  from  the  final  provisions,  that  the  Commission  will 
establish  a  report  on  how  this  Directive  has  been  applied  by  the  Member  States  three 
years  after  the  entry  into  force  of  this  Directive  or,  at  the  latest,  during  the  first  half  of 
the  year  2000.  The  Commission  will  be  assisted  for  that  purpose  by  a  review  body, 
which  will  monitor  the  development  in  the  postal  sector. 

V. 

CONCLUSION 

The  present  proposal  for  a  Directive,  whilst  also  providing  for  an  opening  up  to  more 
competition  of  some  postal  services,  guarantees  for  the  first  time  a  universal  service  at 
the  level  of  the  European  Union.  It  constitutes  a  regulatory  framework  defining 
universal  service  as  well  as  the  modalities  of  its  financing  over  the  long  terms,  by  the 
definition  of  a  reserved  sector  of  appropriate  size. 

The  development  of  a  Community  universal  service  will  help  to  strengthen  social  and 
economic  cohesion  and  improve the  efficiency  of the  services offered  to users  including 
domestic  consumers. 

The  Commission  therefore  presents  this  proposal  for  a  Directive  in  accordance  with 
Article  189b  of  the  Treaty  relating  to  the  codecision  procedure,  and  invites  the 
European  Parliament  and  the  Council  to  decide  as  soon  as  possible  on  these  proposals, 
with  a  view  to  moving  forward  towards  the  attainment  of  the  internal  market  in  the 
postal  sector. 

14 

Proposal  for  a 
EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT  AND  COUNCIL  DIRECTIVE 

on  common  rules  for  the  development  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  Resolution  of  the European  Parliament  of  22  January  1993  concerning 
the  Green  Paper  on  the  development  of  the  single  market  for  postal  services(l), 

Having regard the Council Resolution of 7 February  1994 on the development on Community 
postal  services(2), 

Having  regard  to  the  proposal  from  the  Commission, 

Having  regard  to  the  opinion  of  the  Economic  and  Social  Committee, 

Having  regard  to  the  opinion  of  the  Committee  of  the  Regions, 

1.  Whereas  measures  should  be  adopted  with  the  aim  of  establishing  the  internal  market 
in  accordance  with  Article  7a  of  the  Treaty;  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  postal  sector  is  of  proven 
importance  for  the  economic  and  social  cohesion  of  the  Community,  in  that 
postal  services  are  an  essential  instrument  of  communication  and  trade; 

3.  Whereas  the  Commission  presented,  on  11 June  1992,  a  Green  Paper  on  the 
development  of  the  single  market  for  postal  services  and,  on  2 June  1993,  a 
Communication  on the guidelines  for  the development  of  Community  postal  services; 

4.  Whereas  the  Commission  has  conducted  wide-ranging  public  consultation  on  those 

aspects  of  postal  services  that  are  of  interest  to  the  Community; 

5.  Whereas the current  extent of the universal postal  service and the conditions  governing 
its  provision  vary  significantly  from  one  Member  State  to  another;  whereas,  in 
particular,  performance  in  terms  of  quality  of  service  is  very  unequal  amongst 
Member  States; 

6.  Whereas  cross-border  postal  links  do  not  always  meet  the  expectation  of  users  and 
European  citizens,  and  performance,  in  terms  of  quality  of  service  with  regard  to 
Community  cross-border  postal  services,  is  at the  moment  particularly  unsatisfactory; 

7.  Whereas the disparities observed in the postal  sector have considerable  implications  for 
those  sectors  of  activity  which  rely  especially  on  the  postal  services  and  effectively 
impede the progress towards internal  Community  cohesion, in that the regions deprived 
of  postal  services  of  sufficiently  high  quality  find  themselves  at  a  disadvantage  as 
regards  both  their  letter  service  and  the  distribution  of  goods; 

(i) 

(2) 

OJNo  C42,  15.2.1993, p. 240. 
OJNo  C 48,  16.2.1994, p. 3. 

3) 

15 

8.  Whereas  the  measures  seeking  to  ensure  the  gradual  opemng-up  of  the  market  and  to 
secure  a  proper  balance  in  their  application  are  necessary  in  order  to  guarantee, 
throughout  the  Community,  and  subject  to  the  obligations  and  rights  of  the  universal 
service  providers, the  free  provision  of  services  in  the  postal  sector  itself; 

9.  Whereas  action  at  Community  level  to  ensure  greater  harmonization  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 modalities should 
be  a  matter  for  the  Member  States,  which  should  be  free  to  choose  the  system  best 
adapted  to  their  own  circumstances; 

11.  Whereas  it  is  essential  to  guarantee  at  Community  level  a  universal  postal  service 
encompassing  a  minimum  range  of  good  quality  services  to  be  provided  in  all 
Member  States  at  an  affordable  price  for  the  benefit  of  all  users, irrespective  of  their 
geographical  location  in the  Community; 

12.  Whereas  the  aim of  the  universal  service  is to offer  all  users  easy  access  to the postal 
network  through  the provision,  in particular,  of  a sufficient  number  of  fixed  points of 
contact,  and  by  ensuring  satisfactory  conditions  with  regard  to  the  frequency  of 
collections and deliveries; whereas the provision of the universal service must meet the 
fundamental  need to  ensure  continuity  of operation,  whilst  at the same time  remaining 
adaptable to the needs of users as well as guaranteeing them fair and non-discriminatory 
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, and  the  tariffs; 

15.  Whereas  the  maintenance  of  a  range  of  those  services  that  may  be  reserved,  in 
compliance  with the rules of the Treaty  and without prejudice  to the application  of the 
competition  rules,  appears  justified  on  the  grounds  of  ensuring  the  operation  of  the 
universal  service  under  financially  balanced  conditions; 

16.  Whereas postal  items weighing  350 grammes  and over represent  less than  2% of  letter 
volume  and  3% of  the  receipts  of  the  public  operators;  whereas  the  criteria  of  price 
(five  times  the  basic  tariff)  will  better  permit  the  distinction  between  the  reserved 
service,  and the  express  service,  which  is  already  liberalized; 

17.  Whereas  direct  mail  should,  in principle, be  excluded  from  the  services which  may  be 
reserved,  as it  constitutes  a distinct  segment  of  the postal  market,  which  represents  on 
average  in  the  Community  17% of  the  volume  and  12% of  the  receipts  of  the  public 
postal  operators  of  the  letter  service;  whereas  the  maintenance  of  this  service  in  the 
reserved  sector  could  nevertheless  be justified  until  31 December  2000,  in  so  far  it  is 
necessary  for  the  financial  equilibrium  of  the  universal  service  provider;  whereas  the 
Commission  will  decide  on  30  June  1998  at  the  latest  on  the  appropriateness  of 
postponing the date of liberalization, taking into account the developments, in particular 
economic,  social  and  technological  developments  that  have  occurred  in  the  sector  and 
taking  also  into  account  the  financial  equilibrium  of  the  public  service  provider(s); 

18.  Whereas steps should be taken to exclude the distribution of incoming cross-border mail 
from  the  services  which  may  be  reserved,  which  represents  on  average  in  the 
Community  4% of  volume  and  3% of  receipts of  public postal  operators  for  the  letter 
service;  whereas  the  maintenance  of  this  service  in  the  reserved  sector  could 
nevertheless  be justified  until  31  December  2000,  in  so  far  as  its  contribution  to  the 
financial  equilibrium  of  the  universal  service  provider  is  necessary;  whereas  the 

16 

Commission  will  decide  on  30  June  1998  at  the  latest  on  the  feasibility  of  postponing 
the  date  of  liberalization,  taking  into  account  the  developments,  in  particular  economic, 
social  and  technological  developments,  that  have  occurred  in  the  sector  and  taking  also 
into  account  the  financial  equilibrium  of  the  public  service  provider(s); 

19.  Whereas  a general  re-examination  of  the  scope  of  the  reserved  sector  is  scheduled  for 

the  first  half  of  the  year  2000; 

20.  Whereas,  for  reasons  of  public  order  and  public  security,  Member  States  may  have  a 
legitimate  interest  in  conferring  the  right  to  site  letter-boxes  intended  for  the  reception 
of  postal  items  on  the  public  highway  on  one  or  more  entities  designated  by  them; 
whereas,  for  the  same  reasons,  they  are  entitled  to  appoint  the  entity  or  entities 
responsible  for  issuing  postage  stamps  bearing  the  name  of  the  country; 

21.  Whereas  special  services, such  as the express  mail  service  (apart  from  greater  speed  and 
reliability  in  the  collection,  distribution  and  delivery  of  items,  this  service  features  all 
or  some of  the following  supplementary  facilities:  guarantee  of  delivery  by  a fixed  date; 
collection  from  domicile;  personal  delivery  to  addressee;  possibility  of  changing  the 
destination  and  addressee  in the  course  of  delivery;  confirmation  to  sender of  reception 
of  the  item  dispatched;  monitoring  and  tracking  of  items  dispatched;  personalized 
service  for  customers  and  provision  of  an  à  la  carte  service,  as  and  when  required),  as 
well  as  the  new  services  (services  quite  distinct  from  the  conventional  services)  and 
document  exchanges,  do  not  form  part  of  the  universal  service,  and  consequently  there 
is  no  justification  for  their  being  reserved  to  the  universal  service  providers;  whereas 
the  foregoing  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  acting  solely  on  behalf  of  that  person),  which  does  not  fall 
within  the  category  of  services; 

22.  Whereas  Member  States  should  be  able  to  regulate,  on  their  territory,  the  provision  of 
postal  services  which  are  not  reserved  to  the  universal  service  providers  by  declaration 
procedures  and,  where justified,  by  authorization  procedures;  whereas  those  procedures 
must  be  transparent,  non-discriminatory  and  based  on  objective  criteria; 

23.  Whereas  the  Member  States  should  have  the  option  of  making  the  grant  of  licences 
subject to universal  service obligations or contributions to a compensation  fund  intended 
to  compensate  the  universal  service  provider  for  the  provision  of  services  representing 
an  unfair  financial  burden;  whereas  Member  States  should  be  able  to  include  in  the 
authorizations  an  obligation  that  the  authorized  activities  must  not  improperly  impair 
the  exclusive  or  special  rights  granted  to  the  universal  service  providers  from  the 
reserved  services;  whereas  an  identification  system  for  direct  mail  may  be  introduced 
for  the  purposes  of  supervision  when  direct  mail  is  liberalized; 

24.  Whereas  it  may  be  necessary  in  the  future  to  harmonize  at  Community  level  the 
authorization  procedures  laid  down  by  the  Member  States,  in  justified  cases,  for  the 
commercial  provision  to  the  public  of  non-reserved  services; 

25  Whereas  it  may  be  necessary  in  the  future  to  harmonize,  at  Community  level,  the 

conditions  governing  access  to  the  public  postal  network  in  Member  States; 

26.  Whereas,  in  order  to  ensure  sound  management  of  the  universal  service  and  to  avoid 
distortions  of  competition,  the  tariffs  applied  to  the  universal  service  should  be 
objective,  transparent,  non-discriminatory  and  cost-based; 

27.  Whereas,  in  the  case  of  cross-border  mail,  the  universal  service  provider  in  the 
this 
incoming  country  should  receive  remuneration  covering 
remuneration  should  also  include  an  incentive  to  improve  the  quality  of  Community 
cross-border  service; 

its  costs;,  whereas 

17 

28.  Whereas separate accounts for the different  reserved  services and non-reserved  services 
are  necessary,  in  order  to  introduce  transparency  into  the  actual  costs  of  the  various 
services,  and  in  order  to  ensure  that  cross-subsidies  from  the  reserved  sector  to  the 
unreserved  sector  cannot  affect  the  competitive  conditions  in  the  latter; 

29.  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  of  services  provided  at  Community 
level;  whereas  such 
improvements  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; 

30.  Whereas the  quality  of  service  expected  by  users  constitutes  an  essential  aspect  of  the 
services  provided;  whereas the  evaluation  standards  for  this  quality  of  service  and the 
levels  of  quality  achieved  must  be  published  in  the  interests  of  users;  whereas  it  is 
necessary  to  have  available  harmonized  quality  of  service  standards  and  a  common 
methodology  for  measurement  in  order  to  be  able  to  evaluate  the  convergence  of  the 
quality  of  service  throughout  the  Community; 

31.  Whereas  national  quality  standards  consonant  with  Community  standards  must  be 
determined  by  Member  States;  whereas,  in  the  case  of  intra-Community  cross-border 
traffic  requiring  the  combined  efforts  of  at  least  two  universal  service  providers  from 
two  different  Member  States,  quality  standards  must  be  defined  at  Community  level; 

32.  Whereas  compliance  with  these  standards  must  be  independently  verified  at  regular 
intervals  and on  a harmonized  basis; whereas users must have the right to be  informed 
of  the  results  of  this  verification; 

33.  Whereas  Council  Directive  93/13/EEC  of  5 April  1993  on  unfair  terms  in  consumer 

contracts(3)  applies  to  postal  operators; 

34.  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  national  and  Community  law,  a  simple  conciliation  procedure  should 
be provided,  which  should  be flexible,  inexpensive  and transparent,  and  should  enable 
all  relevant parties  to  participate; 

35.  Whereas  progress  in  the  interconnection  of  postal  networks  and  the  interests  of  users 
require that technical  standardization  be encouraged;  whereas technical  standardization 
is indispensable for the promotion of interoperability between national networks and for 
an  efficient  Community  universal  service;  whereas  users  should  be  actively  involved 
in the  harmonization  of  technical  standards; 

36.  Whereas  the  detailed  drafting  of  those  harmonized  technical  standards  must  be  a 
step-by-step  process;  whereas  guidelines  on  European  harmonization  provide  for 
specialized  technical  standardization  activities  to  be  entrusted  to  the  European 
Committee  for  Standardization; 

37.  Whereas  the  future  work  on  the  development  of  measures  relating  to  the  quality  of 
Community  cross-border  service and technical  standardization  must be prepared  under 
the  aegis  of  the  Commission,  assisted  by  the  Member  States  in  consultation  with 
interested  parties,  including  associations  of  consumers,  and  with  the  assistance  of  a 
committee  set  up  for  this  purpose; 

(3) 

OJNo  L  95, 21.4.1993, p. 29. 

18 

38.  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  of  the  regulator,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  operator,  on  the  other;  whereas  no 
postal  operator  may  be  both  judge  and  interested  party;  whereas  it  is  a  matter  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  appointed  for  that 
purpose; 

39.  Whereas  the  effects  of  the  harmonized  conditions  on  the  functioning  of  the  internal 
market  in  postal  services  will  need  to  be  the  subject  of  an  assessment;  whereas, 
therefore,  the  Commission  will  present  a  report  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council  on  the  application  of  this  Directive  three  years  following  the  date  of  its  entry 
into  force,  and,  at  the  latest,  during  the  first  half  of  the  year  2000;  whereas  it  is 
appropriate  that the  Commission  should  be  assisted  in this task  by  a review  body  which 
will  monitor  the  evolution  of  the  sector,  that  it  should  be  composed  of  up  to 
five  independents  experts  appointed  by  the  Commission  who, together,  will  provide  the 
necessary  expertise  and  will  collect  all  appropriate  information  about  the  developments 
in the sector, particularly  concerning  economic, social  and  technological  aspects, as well 
as  quality  of  service; 

40.  Whereas  the Court of Justice has confirmed  the applicability  of the rules on  competition 
to  the  postal  sector;  whereas  this  Directive  must  comply  with  the  Treaty;  whereas,  in 
,  the  Commission  explained  how  the  competition  rules,  and  in 
a  Notice  of 
particular  Article  90  of  the  Treaty,  applied  to  the  postal  sector;  whereas  the  rules  on 
competition  require  the  creation  of  an  independent  authority  to  ensure  the  effective 
monitoring  of  the  reserved  services  as  well  as  the  transparency  of  the  postal 
that  non 
organizations'  accounting  systems;  whereas  competition 
discriminatory  access  to  the  postal  network  be  guaranteed; 

rules  require 

41.  Whereas  this  Directive  does  not  affect  the  application  of  the  rules  of  the  Treaty,  and 

in  particular  its  rules  on  competition  and  the  freedom  to  provide  services, 

HAVE  ADOPTED  THIS  DIRECTIVE: 

CHAPTER  1 

Scope  and  definitions 

Article  1 

This  Directive  establishes  common  rules  concerning: 

the  provision  of  a  universal  postal  service  within  the  Community; 
the  criteria  limiting  the  services  which  may  be  reserved  to  the  providers  of  universal 
service; 

tariff  principles  and  transparency  of  accounts; 

the  fixing  of  quality  standards  and the  setting-up  of  a system  to  ensure  compliance  with 
those  standards; 

the  harmonization  of  technical  standards; 

the  creation  of  independent  national  regulatory  authorities. 

19 

Article  2 

For  the  purposes  of  this  Directive,  the  following  definitions  shall  be  applicable: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

postal  services:  services  involving  the  collection  (including  public  collection),  carriage, 
and  delivery  of  postal  items; 

public  postal  network:  a  system  of  human  resources  and  tangible  assets  necessary  to 
ensure: 

the  public  collection  of  postal  items  covered  by  the  universal  service  obligation 
from  mail  boxes  or  other  access  points  throughout  the  territory; 

the  routing  and  handling  of  those  items  from  their  point  of  access  to  the  postal 
network  and  the  distribution  centre; 

the  delivery  of  those  items  to  the  addressees  on  the  basis  of  regular  delivery 
rounds; 

collection:  the  process  of  gathering,  transporting  and  relaying  postal  items  from  the 
place  of  packaging  and  from  mail  boxes  where  they  have  been  deposited  for  that 
purpose,  to  a  point  giving  access  to  the  postal  network; 

clearance:  the  process  of  collecting  postal  items  deposited  in  mail  boxes  on  the  public 
highways  or  on  the  premises  of  the  universal  service  providers  suitable  for  reception 
of  postal  items; 

distribution:  operations  ranging  from  sorting  in  the  distribution  centres  to  the  delivery 
of  postal  items  to  the  addresses  shown  on  the  items; 

postal  item:  any  addressed  item  whose  technical  specifications  allow  it  to  be  carried  in 
the  postal  network.  Such  items  include  books,  catalogues,  newspapers,  periodicals  and 
postal  packages  containing  merchandise  with  or  without  commercial  value; 

item  of  correspondence:  a  communication  in  written  form  on  any  kind  of  physical 
medium  to be  conveyed  and  delivered  at the  address  indicated  by  the  sender  of the  item 
itself  or  on  its  wrapping.  Books,  catalogues,  newspapers  and  periodicals  shall  not  be 
regarded  as  items  of  correspondence; 

document  exchange:  delivery  of  mail  by  the  senders  to  ad  hoc  exchange  centres  in 
which  correspondents have  designated  boxes  where they  can come to retrieve their mail. 
Users  of  an  exchange  center  must  belong  to  a  group  of  subscribers  to  this  service; 

registered  item:  a  postal  item  guaranteed  on  a  flat-rate  basis  against  risks  of  loss  or 
damage  and  delivered  against  signed  confirmation  of  receipt; 

insured  item:  a  postal  item  the  contents  of  which  are  insured  up  to  the  value  declared 
by  the  sender  in  the  event  of  loss  or  damage; 

incoming  cross-border  mail:  incoming  mail  from  another  Member  State  or  from  a 
third  country; 

direct  mail:  item  of  correspondence  consisting  of  the  same  message  and  sent  to  a 
significant  number  of  addresses  for  advertising  or  marketing  purposes; 

universal  service  provider  public  or  private  entity  designated  by  a  Member  State  to 
ensure  the  provision  of  a  universal  service,  or  parts  thereof; 

20 

14. 

terminal  dues:  the  remuneration  applied  between  universal  service  providers  for  the 
delivery  of  incoming  cross-border  mail; 

15. 

sender  natural  or  legal  person  responsible  for  originating  the  postal  items; 

16.  users:  professional  users,  domestic  consumers  and  postal  operators  other  than  those 
responsible  for  the  universal  service  (including  intermediaries),  where postal  operators 
wish  to  have  access  to  the  services  in  order  to  provide  an  end-to-end  service; 

17. 

intermediary:  any  economic  operator  who  acts  between  the  sender  and  the  universal 
service  provider,  by  collecting,  routing  and/or  pre-sorting  postal  items,  before 
channelling  them  into  the  public  postal  network  of  the  same  or  of  another  country; 

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. 

CHAPTER 2 
Universal  service 

Article 3 

Member  States  shall  ensure  that  users  enjoy  the  right  to  a  universal  service  involving  the 
provision  of  a  good-quality  postal  service  for  all  users  at  all  points  on  their  territory  at 
affordable  prices. 

To that end, Member  States shall take steps to ensure that the density of the points of contact, 
and  of  the  points  where  mail  is  collected,  take  account  of  the  needs  of  users. 

They  shall  take  steps to  ensure  that  the  universal  service  providers  guarantee  every  working 
day,  and  not  less  than  five  days  a  week  save  in  exceptional  circumstances  or  geographical 
conditions: 

one  collection  from  the  clearance  points; 

one  door-to-door  delivery  for  every  natural  or  legal  person; 

Each  Member  State  shall  take  the  measures  necessary  to  ensure  that  the  universal  service 
includes  the  following  minimum  facilities: 

the collection,  transport  and  distribution  of  addressed  mail  items  and  addressed  books, 
catalogues, newspapers  and periodicals  up to 2 kg and addressed  postal packages up to 
20  kg; 

services  for  registered  items  and  insured  items. 

The  maximum  and  minimum  dimensions  envisaged  for  postal  items  are those  laid  down  in 
the  Agreement  concerning  Postal  Parcels  adopted  by  the  Universal  Postal  Union  at  its 
Congress  in  Washington  in  December  1989. 

Universal  service  as  used  in this  Article  covers  both  national  and  cross-border  services. 

Article 4 

Each Member  State shall appoint one or more postal operators to be responsible for  providing 
universal  service  and  shall  notify  the  Commission  thereof.  In  accordance  with  Community 
law, each  Member  State  shall  determine  the  obligations  and  rights  assigned  to  the  universal 
service  provider(s),  and  shall  publish  them. 

21 

Article 5 

Each  Member  State  shall  take  steps  to  ensure  that the  universal  service  meets the  following 
requirements: 

it  shall  offer  a service  guaranteeing  the  inviolability  and  secrecy  of  correspondence; 

it  shall  offer  an  identical  service  to  all  users  whose  circumstances  are  similar; 

it  shall  be  made  available  without  any  form  of  discrimination  whatsoever,  especially 
without  discrimination  arising  from  political,  religious  or  ideological  considerations; 

it  shall  not  be  interrupted  or  terminated,  except  in  cases  of  force  majeure; 

it shall evolve in response to the technical, economic  and social  environment and to the 
demands  of  users. 

Article  6 

Member  States  shall  take  steps  to  ensure  that  users  are  regularly  given  sufficiently  detailed 
information  by  the  universal  service  provider(s)  regarding  the  particular  features  of  the 
universal  services offered,  with  special  reference  to the general  conditions of  access to these 
services  as well  as to prices  and quality  standard  levels. This  information  shall  be  published, 
in  particular,  through  the  use  of  publicly  displayed  notices  or  brochures. 

Member  States shall notify  the Commission, within six months of the date of entry  into  force 
of  this  Directive,  of  how  the  information  to  be  published  in  accordance  with  the  provisions 
of the preceding paragraph is being made available. Subsequent modifications shall be notified 
to  the  Commission  at the  earliest  opportunity. 

Each  Member  State  shall  take  steps  to  offer  lasting  guarantees  regarding  the provision  of  a 
universal  service,  as  defined  in  this  Directive. 

.  Article  7 

CHAPTER 3 
Harmonization  of  the  services  which  may  be  reserved 

Article  8 

1. 

2. 

To the extent necessary  to ensure the maintenance of the universal  service, the services 
which  may  be  reserved  to  the  universal  service  provider(s)  in  each  Member  State  are 
the  collection,  sorting,  transport  and  delivery  of  items  of  domestic  correspondence 
whose price is less than five times the public tariff  for  an item of correspondence in the 
first  weight  step,  provided  that  they  weigh  less  than  350  grammes,  and  without 
prejudice  to  paragraph  2. 

The  distribution  of  incoming  cross-border  mail  and  direct  mail  may  continue  to  be 
reserved  until  31  December  2000,  wherever  their  reservation  is  necessary  for  the 
financial  equilibrium  of the universal service provider(s). The Commission  shall decide 
on  30  June  1998  at  the  latest  as to  the  appropriateness  of  maintaining  the  reservation 
of  those  services  after  31  December  2000,  taking  into  account  the  developments,  in 
particular  economic, social  and technological  developments, that have occurred  by that 
date  and  also  taking  into  account  the  financial  equilibrium  of  the  universal  service 
provider(s). 

22 

3.  Without  prejudice  to  paragraph  2, the  provisions  of  paragraph  1 shall  be  re-examined 
when  the  Commission  reports  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the 
application  of  this  Directive  pursuant  to  Article  23, and  no  later  than  the  first  half  of 
the year  2000. 

4.  Member  States,  upon  request  of  the  Commission,  shall  provide  the  necessary 
information  for  the  decision  envisaged  in  paragraph  2  and  the  report  referred  to  in 
paragraph  3. 

Article  9 

Member  States shall  appoint the entity  or entities that  are entitled to place letter-boxes on the 
public highway  for the reception of postal items and to issue postage stamps bearing the name 
of  the  country. 

CHAPTER 4 
Conditions  governing  the  provision  of  non-reserved  services  and  access  to the  network 

Article  10 

1.  Member  States  may  apply  declaration  procedures  and,  where  justified,  authorization 
procedures  for  the  commercial  provision  to  the  public  of  postal  services  that  are  not 
reserved to the  universal  service providers. These procedures shall  be transparent,  non 
discriminatory,  and  based  on  objective  criteria. 

2. 

The  granting  of  authorizations  may,  where  appropriate,  be  made  subject  to  universal 
service  obligations  which  are  proportional,  and  to  the  obligation  not  to  improperly 
impair the exclusive or special rights granted to the universal  service providers, for  the 
reserved  services  referred  to  in  Article  8(1). 

3.  Where  a  Member  State  determines  that  the  universal  service  obligations  under  this 
Directive  represent  an unfair  financial  burden  on the universal  service provider,  it may 
make  the  granting  of  authorization  subject  to  an  obligation  to  make  a  financial 
contribution  to  a  compensation  fund  established  for  that  purpose  and  administered  by 
a body  independent  of the beneficiary  or beneficiaries.  In that  event, the Member  State 
must  ensure that the principles  of transparency, non-discrimination  and proportionality 
are  respected  when  fixing  the  level  of the  financial  contributions. 

4.  Member  States  must  ensure  that  the  reasons  for  refusing  an  authorization  are 

communicated  to  the  relevant  party  and  establish  an  appeal  procedure. 

5.  Member  States  may  provide  for  an  identification  system  for  direct  mail,  allowing  the 

supervision  of  such  services  once  they  are  liberalized. 

Article  11 

1. 

2. 

The European  Parliament  and the  Council, acting  on  a proposal  from  the  Commission 
and on the basis of Articles  57(2), 66 and  100a of the Treaty, shall adopt the  measures 
necessary  for  the  harmonization  of  the  authorization  procedures  governing  the 
commercial  provision  to the public of non-reserved  postal  services, with the  exception 
of  those  services  that  cannot  be  subjected  to  such  constraints,  such  as  document 
exchange  and  outgoing  cross-border  mail  to  other  Member  States. 

The harmonization  measures referred  to in paragraph  1 shall concern, in particular,  the 
criteria  to  be  observed  and  the  procedures  to  be  followed  by  the  postal  operator 
requesting  the  authorization,  the  detailed  rules  governing  publication  of  those  criteria 
and  procedures,  and  also  the  appeal  procedures  to  be  followed  in  the  event  of  refusal 
of  an  authorization. 

23 

Article  12 

The European  Parliament and the Council, acting on a proposal  from  the Commission  and on 
the  basis  of  Articles  57(2),  66  and  100a  of  the  Treaty,  shall  adopt  such  harmonization 
measures  as  are  necessary  to  ensure  that  users  and  providers  of  the  universal  service  shall 
have access, under conditions that are transparent  and non-discriminatory, to the public postal 
network  during  the  various  stages  preceding  the  final  distribution  of  postal  items. 

CHAPTER  5 
Tariff  principles  and  transparency  of  accounts 

Article  13 

Member  States  shall  take  steps  to  ensure  that  universal  service  tariffs  comply  with  the 
following  principles: 

prices  must  be  affordable  and  must  be  such  that  all  users  have  access  to  the  services 
provided; 

prices  must  be  fixed  in  relation  to  the  costs  for  each  service  making  up  the  universal 
service;  Member  States  may  decide  that  a  uniform  tariff  is  to  be  applied  on  their 
territory  for  each  service  composing  the  universal  service; 

tariffs  must  be transparent  and  non-discriminatory. 

Article  14 

Member  States  shall  take  steps to  ensure  that terminal  dues  are  determined  in relation  to the 
costs of  the  universal  service  providers  responsible  for  the  non-discriminatory  handling  and 
distribution  of  the  mail  in  the  country  of  arrival,  and  so  as  to  ensure  the  quality  of  the 
services  provided. 

Article  15 

1.  Member States shall take the measures necessary to ensure, within two years of the date 
of  entry  into  force  of  this  Directive,  that  the  accounting  of  the  universal  service 
providers  is conducted  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  paragraphs  2 and 3. 

2. 

The  universal  service  providers  shall  keep  separate  accounts,  within  their  internal 
accounting  systems, on  the  one  hand  for  each  of the  relevant  reserved  services  within 
the  reserved  sector  (distinguishing  between  collection,  transport,  sorting  and  delivery) 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  for  the  non-reserved  services,  in  the  same  way  as  would  be 
required  if the services in question  were provided  by separate  undertakings. They  shall 
draw  up  in  their  annual  report  a  balance-sheet  and  a  profit-and-loss  account  for  the 
reserved  services, on  the  one hand,  and  for  the non-reserved  services, on the  other. 

3.  Whatever their system of ownership  or legal form, the universal  service providers shall 
have  their  annual  accounts  verified  by  an  independent  auditor.  Universal  service 
providers  who  are  not  under  a legal  obligation  to  publish  their  annual  accounts  shall 
hold  a  copy  of  these  at  the  disposal  of  the  national  regulatory  authority  and  the 
Commission. 

The  Commission  shall  take  the  steps  necessary  to  ensure  the  confidentiality  of  the 
information  received  in  this  connection. 

24 

CHAPTER 6 

Quality  of  services 

Article  16 

Member  States  shall  take  steps to  ensure that the  universal  service  is of  good  quality. 
Quality standards shall aim, in particular, on transit times and on the regularity and reliability 
of  services. 

These  standards  shall  be laid  down by: 

the Member  States,  in the  case of  the national  services; 

the Commission,  in the  case of  intra-Community  cross-border  services,  in  accordance 
with the procedure  set out  in  Article 21. 

Independent  performance  monitoring  shall  be  carried  out  at  least  once  a year  by  external 
bodies  unrelated  to  the  universal  service  providers  under standardized  conditions  to  be laid 
down by the Commission  and shall  be the  subject of  reports published  at least once  a year. 

Article  17 

Member  States shall  take steps to ensure that standards are laid  down for national  mail that 
are compatible with those laid down by the Commission for the intra-Community cross-border 
services.  However, regard being had to specific  national  conditions, an initial objective shall 
be  to  ensure  that  in  all  Member  States the  items  of  correspondence  of  the  fastest  standard 
category  achieve  an end-to-end transit time of  one working  day from  the  date of  deposit to 
the date of  delivery  for  at least  80% of the items dispatched. 

These  standards  shall  be subject to periodic  review. 

Performance monitoring and the justification of results shall be carried out in compliance with 
the provisions  laid down  in Article  16. 

Article  18 

In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  Article  16,  the  Commission  shall,  one  year  after  the 
entry into force of this Directive, lay down quality standards for intra-Community cross-border 
services.  It shall publish these standards in the Official  Journal of the European Communities 
and shall take steps to ensure the regular monitoring and the publication of performance levels 
certifying  compliance  with these  standards and the progress  accomplished.  These standards 
shall  be subject to periodic  review. 

Pending the definition  of  those standards, Member  States shall  apply the following  standard 
for  items  of  correspondence  in  the  fastest  standard  category:  an  end-to-end  transit time  of 
three working days from the date of deposit in the country  of origin and the date of delivery 
in the country  of distribution  (D+3)  for 90% of the items dispatched,  and five  working days 
(D+5)  for  99%  of  the  items  dispatched.  The  standards  in  question  shall  be  regarded  as 
averages  upon which  universal  service providers may  improve. 

Article  19 

Member States shall take steps to ensure that transparent, simple and inexpensive procedures 
are drawn up for dealing with users' complaints, particularly  in cases involving  loss, theft or 
damage, or non-compliance  with service  quality  standards.  Member  States shall  ensure that 
an efficient  and speedy  system for reimbursement  and/or compensation  is available, and that 
disputes  are settled  fairly  and promptly. 

25 

Without  prejudice  to  other  forms  of  redress  under  national  and  Community 
legislation, 
Member  States  shall  ensure  that  users  acting,  where  national  law  so  permits,  jointly  with 
organizations  representing  the  interests  of  users  and  consumers  may  bring  before  the  national 
regulatory  authority  cases  where  complaints  made  to  the  universal  service  provider  have  not 
been  satisfactorily  resolved. 

In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  Article  16, Member  States  shall  ensure  that  the  universal 
service  providers  publish,  together  with  the  annual  report  on  the  monitoring  of  their 
performance,  information  on  the  number  of  complaints  and  the  manner  in  which  they  have 
been  treated. 

CHAPTER  7 
Harmonization  of  technical  standards 

Article  20 

The harmonization  of  technical  standards  shall  be  developed,  taking  into  account  in  particular 
the  interests  of  users. 

The  European  Committee  for  Standardization  shall  be  entrusted  with  drawing  up  technical 
standards  applicable  to  the  postal  sector  on  the  basis  of  mandates  and  pursuant  to  the 
principles  set  out  in  Council  Directive  83/189/EEC(4).  This  work  shall  take  account  of  the 
harmonization  measures  adopted  at  international  level,  and,  in  particular,  those  decided  upon 
within  the  Universal  Postal  Union.  The  standards  applicable  shall  be  published  in  the 
Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities  once  a  year. 

Member  States  shall  ensure  that,  in  all  matters  relating  to  the  provision  of  the  universal 
service,  reference 
in  the  Official  Journal  of  the 
European  Communities. 

is  made  to  the  standards  published 

The  status  of  the  work  carried  out  by  the  European  Committee  for  Standardization  and  the 
progress  achieved  in  this  area  by  that  body  shall  be  the  subject  of  consultations  with  the 
Advisory  Committee  in  accordance  with  Article  21. 

CHAPTER  8 
The  Advisory  Committee 

Article  21 

The  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by  a  committee  of  an  advisory  nature  composed  of  the 
representatives  of  the  Member  States  and  chaired  by  the  representative  of  the  Commission. 
The  Advisory  Committee  shall  establish  its  own  rules  of  procedure. 

The  Advisory  Committee  shall  be  consulted  on  the  provisions  relating  to  quality  of  service 
set  out  in  Article  16  and  the  provisions  relating  to  the  harmonization  of  technical  standards 
set  out  in  Article  20. 

The  representative  of  the  Commission  shall  submit  to  the  committee  a  draft  of  the  measures 
to  be  taken.  The  committee  shall  deliver  its  opinion  on  the  draft,  within  a time-limit  which 
the  Chairman  may  lay  down  according  to  the  urgency  of  the  matter,  if  necessary  by  taking 
a  vote. 

The  opinion  shall  be  recorded  in  the  minutes;  in  addition,  each  Member  State  shall  have  the 
right  to  ask  to  have  its  position  recorded  in  the  minutes. 

(4) 

OJ  No  L  109,  26.4.1983,  p.  8. 

26 

The Commission  shall  take the  utmost  account  of the  opinion  delivered  by  the committee.  It 
shall  inform  the  committee  of  the  manner  in  which  its  opinion  has  been  taken  into  account. 

The  Commission  shall  also  consult  the  representatives  of  the  postal  operators, the  industries 
involved, the users including  domestic  consumers  and both  sides of the industry  on  questions 
relating  to  quality  of  service  and  the  harmonization  of  technical  standards. 

It  shall  keep  the  Advisory  Committee  regularly 
consultations  and  of  the  work  carried  out  by  the  review  body  referred  to  in  Article 23. 

informed  of  the  outcome  of  those 

CHAPTER 9 
The  national  regulatory  authority 

Article  22 

Each  Member  State  shall  appoint  a national  regulatory  authority  for  the  postal  sector  that  is 
legally  and operationally  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 Directive.  They  may  also  be  made  responsible  for  ensuring 
compliance  with  the national  and  Community  competition  rules  in  the  postal  sector. 

The national  regulatory  authorities  shall  transmit  to the Commission,  once per calendar year, 
a  report  setting out the progress  made  at  national  level  in  the  achievement  of the  objectives 
set  out  in  this  Directive.  The  annual  report  shall  be  transmitted  to  the  Commission  no  later 
than  five  months  after  the  end  of  the  year  covered  by  the  report. 

CHAPTER  10 
Final  provisions 

Article  23 

1. 

2. 

Three years  after  the  date  of  entry  into  force  of  this  Directive  and  at the  latest  by  the 
first  half  of  the  year  2000,  the  Commission  shall  submit  a  report 
the 
European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the  application  of  this  Directive.  For  this 
purpose,  the  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by  a  review  body  which  will  monitor  the 
evolution  of  the  sector. 

to 

The review body shall be composed of up to five  independent  experts, appointed by the 
Commission, who, together, shall provide the different  areas of expertise required. They 
shall  collect  all  appropriate  information  on  developments  in  the  sector,  particularly 
concerning  economic,  social  and  technological  aspects,  as  well  as  information  on 
quality  of  service. 

Article  24 

Member  States  shall  bring  into  force  the  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions 
necessary  to  comply  with  this  Directive  not  later  than  six  months  after  the  date  of  its  entry 
into  force.  They  shall  immediately  inform  the  Commission  thereof 

When Member  States adopt these provisions, these  shall  contain  a reference  to this  Directive 
or  shall  be  accompanied  by  such  reference  at  the  time  of  their  official  publication.  The 
procedure  for  such  reference  shall  be  adopted  by  Member  States. 

27 

This Directive  shall  enter  into  force  on  the twentieth  day  following  that of  its publication  in 
the  Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities. 

Article  25 

This  Directive  is  addressed  to  the  Member  States. 

Article  26 

Done  at  Brussels, 

For  the European  Parliament 
The President 

For  the  Council 
The  President 

28 

FINANCIAL  STATEMENT 

L 

1. 

FINANCIAL  IMPLICATIONS 

Tide  of  tfae  action 

European  Parliament  and  Council  Directive  on  common  rules  for  the  development  of 
the  Community  postal  services  and  the  improvement  in  the  quality  of  service. 

2. 

Budget  heading 

A-250 

A-2510  (group  3) 

3. 

Legal  basis 

Article  100a; 
Green  Paper  on  the  development  of  the  single  market  for  Community  postal 
services,  COM(91)  476  final; 

Communication  on  guidelines  for  the  development  of  Community  postal  services, 
COM(93)  247  final; 

Resolution  of  the  European  Parliament  of  22  January  1993  concerning 
Green  Paper  on 
the  development  of 
postal  services,  OJ  No  C  42,  15.2.1993; 

the 
for  Community 

the  single  market 

Council  Resolution  of  7  February  1994  on  the  development  of  Community  postal 
services,  OJ  No  C  48,  16.2.1994. 

4. 

Description 

4.1  Objectives 

The  proposed  action  seeks  to  develop  postal  services  by: 

guaranteeing,  on  a  Community  scale,  a  universal  postal  service; 

improving  the  quality  of  services  both  for  inland  traffic  and  for  cross-border 
traffic; 

promoting  the  harmonization  of  technical  standards. 

This  will  have  the  effect  of  ensuring  a  more  efficient  postal  service  in  the 
Community,  while  at the same time promoting  the  completion  of the single  market 
by  facilitating  intra-Community  cross-border  trade.  The  proposed  measures  have 
been  drawn  up  in  the  interests  of  all  postal  users,  but  in  particular  of  the  end 
users. 

4.2  Duration 

The  duration  of the  measures  to be  applied  is not  limited.  However,  it is  envisaged 
that  in  the  year  2000,  an  assessment  should  be  made  which  could  give  rise  to 
certain  modifications  of  the  initial  measures. 

29 

4.3  Economie  and  social  players  covered  by  the  action 

The  Directive  concerns  all  users  of  the  postal  services,  i.e.,  to  a greater  or  lesser 
degree, all  economic  operators  and  citizens of  the Community.  However,  certain 
sectors of  activity  use the postal  services  more  intensively  than  others.  The same 
applies  to  mail  order  sales,  the  press  and  direct  marketing. 

5. 

Classification  of  expenditure 

non-compulsory  expenditure; 

differentiated  appropriations. 

6. 

Nature  of  tfae expenditure 

Not  applicable. 

7. 

Financial  implications 

No  implications  for  the  operation  headlines. 

8. 

Anti-fraud  provisions 

Not  applicable. 

IL  ADMINISTRATIVE  EXPENDITURE 

This  expenditure  covers: 

the  expenses for  convining a team  of  experts, the  review body,  whose  creation  is 
foreseen  to  assist  the  Commission  to  monitor  the  evolution  of  the postal  sector. 

The review body would meet sux times a year. It will be composed of five  people 
who, together,  will  cover  all  needed  backgrounds  for  the tasks  required. 

Taking  as  an  average  basis  ECU  1.100 per  person  and  per  meeting  in  respect of 
travel  expenses  for  members  of  the  group, the  cost  over  a full  year  should  be  as 
follows:  6 x 5 x1  100 = ECU  33  000  to  be  allocated  to  heading  A-250. 

the  operation  of  the  Advisory  Committee  made  up  of  representatives  from  the 
Member  States, under the chairmanship  of the Commission.  This Committee has 
been  set  up  in  order  to  assist  the  Commission  in  carrying  out  the  various  tasks 
involving  quality  of  service  and  technical  standardization. 

This committee could meet six times per year.  It will be composed of 30 persons. 

Taking  as  an  average  basis  ECU  770  per  person  and  per  meeting  in  respect  of 
travel  expenses  for  members  of  the group, the  cost  over  a full  year  should  be  as 
follows:  6 x 3 0 x 7 70  = ECU  138600  to  be  allocated  to  heading  A-2510 
(group  3). 

Following 
Consultative  Committee  will  be  established  in  1996, at the  earliest. 

the  Directive, 

adoption  of 

the 

the 

review  body 

and 

the 

The  actual  mobilization  of  the  necessary  administrative  resources  will  depend  on  the 
Commission's  decision  on  the  allocation  of  resources,  taking  particular  account  of 
staffing 
levels  and  such  additional  amounts  as  may  have  been  granted  by  the 
budgetary  authority. 

30 

ÏIL  COST-BENEFIT  ANALYSIS 

1. 

Objectives 

The  proposed  Directive  reflects  the  obligations  incumbent  on the  Commission  and the 
declared  objectives  of  the  Council  to  establish  the  internal  market  in  postal  services. 

The  measures  to be introduced  will place  at the  disposal  of postal  users, including  end 
users,  a  range  of  quality  services  better  adapted  to  meet  their  needs,  particularly  as 
regards  intra-Community  cross-border  postal  services 

2.  Grounds  for the action 

The proposed Directive contains the legislative measures necessary  for the development 
of  the  internal  market  in  postal  services. 

Major  differences  exist between  the Member  States with regard  to the definition  of the 
obligations incumbent on the universal  service, the quality  of the services provided  and 
the  tariffs  applied.  In  addition,  cross-border  trade  is hampered  by  various  barriers of 
an operational,  technical  or  regulatory  nature. 

The  harmonization  of  the  conditions  governing  the  provision  of  the  universal  service 
and the improvement of trade between Member States will be achieved more  effectively 
through  Community  action. 

As  far  as  a framework  Directive  is  concerned,  however,  the  Member  States  retain  an 
essential  active role.  In particular, they guarantee the provision of the universal  service 
and,  on  the  basis  of  the  relevant  provisions  of  the  Directive  and  pursuant  to  the  rules 
of  the  Treaty,  they  determine  the  obligations  and  rights  of  the  universal  service 
providers.  They  apply  the  rules  on  improving  the  quality  of  service  and  promoting 
technical  standardization,  while  at  the  same  time  setting  up  an  independent  national 
regulatory  authority  for  the  sector. 

3.  Monitoring  and assessment of  the action 

Article  23  of  the  proposal  for  a  Directive  stipulates  that  in  the  year  2000,  the 
Commission  shall  submit  a report  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the 
application  of  this  Directive  and,  where  necessary,  shall  make  appropriate  proposals 
for  amendments  with  a  view  to  the  future  development  of  the  internal  market  in 
postal  services. The Commission  will be assisted by  a review body  which will  monitor 
the  evolution  of  the  sector. 

31 

Impact Evaluation  Dossier 

IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL ON ENTERPRISES, 
and, in particular, on small and medium size enterprises  (SME) 

Title of the proposal  : Directive by the Parliament and Council concerning common rules 
for  the  development  of  Community  postal  services  and  the  improvement  of  quality  of 
service. 

Document reference number : 

Proposal 

1.  Necessity for the proposed Community legislation 

The  principal  objective  of  the  action  envisaged  is  to  guarantee  throughout  the 
European  Union  the  long-term  provision  of  a  good  quality  universal  service  at 
affordable  prices, accessible to all, whose financing is assured over the long term. In 
particular, the alignment of conditions governing the supply of postal services and the 
removal  of  legal  and technical  barriers to  cross-border  trade,  are  obligations  which 
are incumbent on the Community in order to achieve the internal market. 

Member States have at their disposal relatively less  effective  means to achieve rapid 
results in the  attainment  of this objective,  especially  as  regards the  improvement  of 
cross-border mail and in the area of technical standardisation. The only alternative to 
Community  legislation  would  be  a  system  of  bilateral  agreements  which  would  be 
difficult to achieve between all Member States. 

Should  Member  States  take  unco-ordinated  action,  the  smooth  operation  of  the 
internal postal market could be compromised. 

Failure  to  take  action  at  Community  level  would  result  in  a  widening  of  the  gap 
between  situations  which  are  already  highly  divergent  and  would  make  it  more 
difficult  for the internal market to function.  In addition,  it cannot be excluded that a 
two-speed Europe in postal services would be the result  : a Europe of the North with 
relatively  efficient  services  and a Europe  of  the  South  offering  users  an inadequate 
level of service. 

Equally,  such  a  failure  would  have  significant  indirect  effects  on  other  economic 
sectors, which are particularly dependent on postal services, and would be detrimental 
to  social  and economic  cohesion.  In particular,  the  social  role  of  postal  services in 
less-favoured regions, as well as their role in regional development cannot be ignored. 

32 

Impact on companies 

2.  Who will be affected  by the proposal  ? 

The  proposed  directive  seeks  to  introduce  harmonised  provisions  concerning  the 
universal  postal  service  and  those  services  likely  to  be  reserved  to  providers  of 
universal  service,  improvement  in  the  quality  of  service,  and  the  promotion  of 
technical  standardisation. 

The  planned  measures  thus  form  a  global  approach  seeking  for  the  first  time  to 
establish  at  Community  level,  a  universal  postal  service  as  well  as  a  progressive 
liberalisation  of  the  market  and  its  opening-up  to  competition,  which  must  be 
implemented  in stages. 

The proposed  directive would require those Member States which currently do not 
have  strict  rules  on  universal  service  and  service  quality,  to  place  obligations  on 
providers of universal service. 

This  is  of  particular  importance  to  individual  users  and  companies  which,  in  the 
absence of a correctly functioning  basic postal service, have to fall back on express 
services and thus pay more in order to benefit from a sufficiently  rapid  and  reliable 
service. This risk is higher for  users whose collection  points for  mail are far  from 
principal  business  centres,  are  located  in  less-favoured  regions  of  the  Member 
States, or in peripheral regions of the Community. 

3.  What  measures  should  enterprises  take  to  be  in  conformity  with  the 

proposal? 

Member  States  will  identify  the  universal  service  providers,  will  specify  the 
obligations  and  rights,  and  will  supervise  the  competitive  postal  sector.  The 
Commission will be informed  of the  operators  identified  as providers  of universal 
service. 

4.  What economic effects  may the proposal be expected  to have ? 

The adoption of a clear and coherent framework for harmonisation  measures in the 
postal  sector,  together  with  a  gradual  liberalisation,  will  provide  the  necessary 
degree  of  legal  security  for  investment  and  economic  development  of  the  sector. 
The  gradual  opening  to  competition,  which  will  act  to  stimulate  productivity  in 
certain  Member  States,  may  lead  to  a  reduction  in  the  staffing  levels  of  public 
operators charged with providing universal service. 

On  the  other  hand,  moves  towards  liberalisation  will  stimulate  the  offer  of  and 
requirements  for,  open  service  provision  and  freedom  to  innovate,  which  will 
translate into the creation of employment  in the liberalised  sector. 

The  proposed  directive  does  not  contain  specific  actions  aimed  at  SMEs,  which, 
however,  may benefit  from  market  opening and play their  role in the  development 
of the sector. 

5.  Consultation 

In June  1992, the Commission  published  a Green Paper on the development  of the 
single  market  for  postal  services1.  This  document  has  permitted  the  identification 
of  major  objectives  which  should  be the  subject  of  a  Community  initiative  in  the 
postal  sector. 

A broad  public  consultation  has  allowed  the  views  of  all  concerned  parties  to  be 
heard  : representatives  of  national  governments,  users  and  consumers,  operators, 
staff unions, etc. (see list in annex). 

One  year  later,  in  June  1993,  the  Commission  presented  to  the  European* 
Parliament  and  the  Council  the  results  and  orientations  which  resulted  from  the 
consultation in a Communication on guidelines for the development  of Community 
postal  services2.  A broad  consensus formed  on  the  need  for  Community  action in 
the following  areas : 

*  definition  of universal service, and a listing of the services likely to be reserved; 
*  common criteria for access (non-discrimination, transparency); 
*  common  specifications  for  service  quality,  at  least  in  the  field  reserved  to 

providers of universal service; 

*  technical  standardisation. 

-  In  March  and  April  1994,  a  new  consultation  on  the  proposal  for  a  regulatory 
framework for postal services in the European Union, was organised in the forrn. of 
hearings. The following organisations were consulted : 

* The Mail Users Association (MUA) 
* European Express Organisation (EEO) 
* Internationale du Personnel des Postes, Télégraphes et Téléphones (IPTT) 
* EUROFEDOP 
* Federation of European Direct Marketing (FEDIM) 
* Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs  (BEUC) 
* Service Public des Consommateurs (SPC) 
* SOGP (Senior Officiai  Group for Posts) 

COM(91) 476  final, 

COM(93) 247  final. 

34 

ANNEX 

LIST OF WRITTEN  CONTRIBUTIONS 

SENT TO THE COMMISSION  DURING 

THE CONSULTATION  PERIOD 

OF THE  POSTAL GREEN  PAPER 

A.  WITHIN  THE  EEC <»> 

I. 

INSTITUTIONS 

1. 

Community  Bodies 

-  Résolution du  Parlement  Européen  adoptée  le 22 janvier  1993 

-  Avis du Comité Economique et Social adopté le 25 mars  1993 

2. 

Governments of the Member  States 

-  Belgium 

-  Germany 

-  France 

-  Greece 

-  Ireland 

-  Italy 

-  Netherlands 

-  Portugal 

-  Spain 

3. 

Parliaments of the Membre  States 

-  Assemblée  Nationale française  (rapport  de M.  Durieux) 

4. 

International  Bodies 

-  Conférence  européenne  des  Postes  et  Télécommunications 

(Comité 

européen  de la réglementation  postale) 

-  Universal Postal  Union  (UPU) 

(u  or European or intcnuUonal oegsneurtioas which include the 12 Member Sûtes. 

35 

5. 

Groups  with a Community  Perspective 

-  Comité  Consultatif  des  Consommateurs 

-  Comité  du Commerce et de la  Distribution 

6. 

Others 

-  Bundesrat  (Germany) 

-  Commission  Supérieure du Service Public des PTT  (France) 

-  POUNC - Post Office  Users' Council  (Royaume-Uni) 

II. 

INTERESTED  PARTIES 

7. 

USERS 

7.1. 

CONSUMERS  ASSOCLATIONSS 

-  Arbeitsgerneinschaft  der  Verbraucherverbànde  e.V. 
-  Association  Etudes Consommateurs - CFDT 
-  BEUC - Bureau Européen  des Unions de  Consommateurs 
-  Consumers  Association 
-  Consumers in the EEC  Group 
-  CSF - Confédération  Syndicale des Familles 
-  Fédération  Nationale des Familles  Rurales 
-  Union de Consumidores de  Espana 
-  Union Fédérale des  Consommateurs 
-  Verband  derPostbenutzer  e.V. 

7.2. 

BUSINESS  USERS 

-  AEMD  Venta por  Correo 
-  AEVD - Association  des Entreprises de Vente à  Distance 
-  Agence Centrale des  Organismes de Sécurité Sociale. 
-  Allied Irish Bank 
-  American  Express 
-  ASEMPRE  -  Asociacion  Profesional  de  Empresas  de  Reparto  y 

Manipulado de Correspondencia 

-  Asociation  espagnole de Marketing Direct 
-  Association Française des  Banques 
-  Barclays Bank Pic 
-  BDZV - Bundesverband  deutscher  Zeitungverleger 
-  Belgische Veringing van  Banken 
-  Boersenverein des deutschen  Buchhandels  e.V. 
-  Bundesverband  deutscher Industrie e.V. 
-  British  Printing Industries  Federation 
-  CAEJ - Association  Européenne des  Editeurs 
-  Caisse Nationale d'Assurance  Vieillesse 
-  Caisse Nationale de Crédit  Agricole 
-  Caisse Nationale des Allocations  Familiales 
-  CEEP - Centre Européen  des  Entreprises  à Participation  Publique 
-  Chambre Commerce et d'Industrie  de  Paris 
-  CNPF - Conseil National  Patronat 
-  Comité National Français - Chambre de Commerce  Internationale. 
-  Confederacion  Espanola de Organizaciones  Empresariales 

36 

Confédération  Générale des  Petites et  Moyennes  Entreprises 
Confederation  of  Irish  Industries 
Deutschen  Industrie  und  Handelstag 
Direct  Mail Services Standards 
Direct  Marketing  Association 
Dublin Sollicitors  Bar Association 
Electricité de  France 
Electricity Supply Board  - ESB 
EMESUA - European  Mail and  Express Services  Users Association 
EMOTA/AEVPC - European  Mail Order  Traders 
Association/Association  Européenne de Vente par  Correspondance 
EUROCHAMBRES 
FEB - Fédération  des Entreprises  Belges 
Federacion  Nacional de Empresas  Publicidad 
Fédération  Bancaire de la  C E. 
Fédération  Française des Sociétés  d'Assurance 
Fédération  Nationale de la Presse  Française 
FEDIM - Fédération  Européenne du  Marketing  Direct 
FNPS  -  FAEP  /  Fédération  Nationale  de  la  Presse  d'Information 
Spécialiée - Fédération  des  Associations  d'Editeurs  de  Périodiques 
de la  C E. 
Garantie  Mutuelle des  Fonctionnaires 
Gesamtverband der Deutschen  Versicherungswirtschaft  e.V. 
Groupement  Européen des Caisses  d'Epargne 
Imperial Chimical  Industry 
IFSDA-International Federation  of Stamp  Dealers's Association 
IOD - Institute of  Directors 
Law Society 
Marketing y Publicitad directa 
Mutuelle Générale des PTT 
National Newspapers of Ireland 
NOTU - Nederlandse Organisatie van  Tijdschrift-Uitgevers 
Office  des Transports et PTT de l'Ile de  France 
Paul Spain Group  Ltd 
Periodical Publishers Association 
Postal Users'  Platform 
Postbank 
Reader's Digest 
Royal National Institute for the Blind 
Syndicat  des  Entreprises  de  Vente  par  Correspondance  et  à 
Distance 
Syndicat National de la Communication  Directe 
The Irish Mail Order Ass. 
The Irish Trade  Board 
The Packing Shop 
Timewarner 
UNICE  -  Union  des  Confédérations  de 
Employeurs  d'Europe 
Union des Offices  des Transports et des  PTT 
Union Internationale  Editeurs 
Union Nationale  Interprofessionnelle  pour  l'Emploi  dans  l'Industrie 
et le Commerce 
Voluntary Health  Insurance  Board 

l'Industrie  et  des 

37 

OPERATORS 

8.1. 

PUBLIC 

-  Amministrazione  délie  Poste  e  Telecomunicazioni  (Italie) 
-  Correos  y Telégrafos  (Spain) 
-  An  Post  (Irlande) 
-  La  Poste  (Belgique) 
-  La  Poste  (France) 
-  Plateforme  La  Poste/Postdienst  (France/Germany) 
-  Postdienst  (Allemagne) 
-  PostEurop 
-  PTT  Nederland  (Pays-Bas) 
-  The  Post  Office  (Royaume-Uni) 

8.2. 

PRIVATE 

-  AEEC  - Association  of  European  Express  Carriers 
-  AICES - Association  of  International  Courier  and  Express  Services 
-  Air  France 
-  Association  française  des Transports  Routiers  Internationaux 
-  Association  of  European  Document  Exchange  (branche  irlandaise) 
-  Belgian  International  Express  Carriers  Association 
-  Business Post  Holdings  Ltd 
-  D HL  Espagne 
-  E EO  -  European  Express  Organisation 
-  Entrega  en  Mano 
-  European  Association  of  Document  Exchange 
-  Francedoc  S A. 
-  Groupement  des  Activités  de  Transport  et  de  Manutention  de  la 

Région  Ile de  France 

-  Irish Association  of  International  Express  Carriers 
-  Société  Nationale  des  Chemins  de  Fer 
-  Syndicat  Français  de  l'Express  International 
-  Syndicat  Français  des  Entreprises  de Transports  légers 
-  Syndicat  National  de  Messagerie  et Abonnements  Périodiques 
-  Syndicat  National  des  Entreprises  de  Logistique  et  Publicité 

9. 

POSTAL  INDUSTRY  SUPPLIERS 

-  CALIBAN  S A. 
-  Compagnie  Générale  Automatisme 
-  G P MU  - Graphical  Paper  &  Media  Union 
-  Néopost  - Société pour  l'Affranchissement  et  le Timbrage  Automatique 
-  Pitney-Bowes  (France) 
-  Sociedad  de  Desarrollo  Postal  S.A. 
-  Société  d'Etude  et  de  Construction  d'Appareils  de  Précision 
-  Syndicat  Général  des  Fabricants  d'Enveloppes,  Sachets  et  Pochettes 

10. 

EMPLOYEES 

-  Association  des Administrateurs  des  PTT 
-  Confédération  Européenne  des  Syndicats 
-  C F DT  - Confédération  Française  Démocratique  du  Travail 
-  C GP  - Christliche  Gewerkschaft  Post 
-  C IF  - Confédération  Internationale  des  Fonctionnaires 
-  Confédération  Française  Encadrement 

-  Confédération  Française  des 

Cadres 

38 

-  Confédération  Générale  du  Travail 
-  Confédération  Générale  du  Travail  Force  Ouvrière 
-  CVVU  Communication  Workers  Union 
-  DBB  - Deutscher  Beamtembund 
-  Deutsche  Postgewerkschaft 
-  Deutscher  Postverband 
-  DGB  - Deutsche  Gewerkschaftsbund 
-  E U R O F E D OP 
-  Federation  of  Irish  Employers 
-  Fédération  Syndicale  des Travailleurs  des  P TT 
- 
- 
-  Post  Office  Unions'  Council 
-  Sindicato  Federal  de  Correos y  Telegrafos 
-  Syndicat  Chrétien  Communication  et  Culture 
-  Syndicat  Libre  de la  Fonction  Publique 
-  Vereniging  Van  Hoger  Personeel  PTT 

IPTT  - Internationale  des  Postes, Télégraphes  et  Téléphones 
Irish  Congress  of T r a de  Unions  (see  C V V U) 

11. 

RESEARCH  INSTITUTES  AND  CONSULTANTS 

-  Fachhochschule 

des  Bundes 

fur 

ôffentliche  Verwaltung,  Deutsche 

Bundespost  Telekom,  Dieburg 

-  Omega  Partners 
-  Rickard  Johnson 
-  WIK  - Wissenschaftliches  Institut  fur  Kommunikationsdienste  G m bH 

B. 

EFTA 

1. 

STATES 

-  Ministry  Transport  Communication  (Suède). 
-  Gouvernement  Suisse 

OPERATORS 

Post  Finland 
P TT  Suisses 

39 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(95) 227 final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

04  10 

Catalogue number  :  CB-CO-95-451-EN-C 

ISBN 92-77-92914-6 

Office  for Official  Publications of the European Communities 

L-2985 Luxembourg