WRITTEN QUESTION P-2474/00 by Pasqualina Napoletano (PSE) to the Commission. Funding of the universal service.
Date: 2000-07-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Italy, competition law, infringement procedure (EU), postal service, single market, universal service

C 81 E/204

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.3.2001

(2001/C 81 E/260)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2474/00

by Pasqualina Napoletano (PSE) to the Commission

(13 July 2000)

Subject: Funding of the universal service

The Directorate-General for Competition has brought infringement proceedings against the Italian State in
connection with the legislative decree transposing the (cid:145)Postal Directive(cid:146) of 1997, with particular reference
to certain categories of postal services considered (cid:145)distinct and separate(cid:146) from conventional services.

To consider these services as (cid:145)non-universal(cid:146) and hence not eligible to be reserved for one particular
company would mean leaving the universal service provider with only the structurally unprofitable
sections of the service, in particular delivery services, characterised by low volume and high unit costs.

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

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(21 September 2000)

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

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

In addition, the activities of private operators will be limited to the value-added services covered in the
proceedings. As most letter mail services are and will remain standard services, the share of value-added
letter mail services covered by the Commission(cid:146)s proceedings will be small compared to the overall letter
mail volume which remains within the scope of the monopoly. The Commission(cid:146)s proceedings will
therefore have no effect on the financial equilibrium of Poste Italiane.

(1) See p. 155.
(2) Directive 97/67/EC of the parliament and of the Council of 15 December 1997, on common rules for the
development of the internal market of Community postal services and the improvement of quality of service (OJ L
15, 21.1.1998) at recital 21:
from conventional services) and
document exchange do not form part of the universal service and consequently there is no justification for their
being reserved to the universal service provider.(cid:146)

(cid:145)whereas new services (services quite distinct