WRITTEN QUESTION E-3259/00 by Brice Hortefeux (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Revision of the postal directive ‐ impact on employment.
Date: 2000-10-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: labour market, liberalisation of the market, postal service, social impact

C 136 E/216

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

8.5.2001

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(21 November 2000)

The Commission considers that opening up to competition means improving the quality of the universal
service. The two are not mutually exclusive.

This is the case in Sweden where citizens enjoy a very high quality of service (97 % of mail delivered the
following day) in a Member State with a very low population density.

The increase in tariffs in Sweden is linked mainly to the introduction of VAT on postal services.

The Swedish Government points out that every year private individuals receive a number of stamps at a
reduced price, which covers most of their needs.

(2001/C 136 E/253)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3259/00

by Brice Hortefeux (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(20 October 2000)

Subject: Revision of the postal directive (cid:129) impact on employment

In the proposal for a directive (COM(2000) 319 final) the European Commission put forward a number of
figures for the consequences on employment of the liberalisation options envisaged. Given that the postal
sector employs 1,4 million people in Europe, the social consequences of the Commission(cid:146)s proposal should
be the subject of a specific and thorough evaluation but the proposal fails to provide such an analysis.

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

1.
of the proposal?

Can the Commission guarantee that its proposals will not jeopardise employment in the postal

2.
sector?

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

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(5 December 2000)

1.
The social consequences of the proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive, amending
Directive 97/67/EC with regard to the further opening to competition of Community postal services, are
assessed on the basis of experience in certain Member States which, in opening their postal sector to
competition, have gone beyond the provisions of Directive 97/67/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 15 December 1997 on common rules for the development of the internal market of
Community postal services and the improvement of quality of service (1), and the study entitled (cid:145)Employ-
ment trends in the European postal sector(cid:146) carried out by Price Waterhouse in May 1997 (2). This
information has been updated with information received subsequently from the economic operators.
Moreover, in order to have up-to-date information in future, the Commission is about to launch a study
on this issue as part of its periodic assessments of sectoral trends.

2.
The Commission(cid:146)s proposal involves introducing a gradual and controlled opening of the postal
services market. The proposed opening of the market, with effect from 2003, represents on average 20 %
of the postal services revenues of the universal service operators. Experience shows that the existing
operators should retain the largest share of trade open to competition (80-90 %). Moreover, it is helpful to
recall that seven Member States have already set about opening the market, going further than the
requirements of the Postal Directive. Because of this, the impact of the proposed opening of the market on
employment should be limited and will certainly not jeopardise employment in the sector.

8.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 136 E/217

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

(1) OJ L 15, 21.1.1998.
(2) http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/postal/evolframe/studies/pwc1.pdf.

(2001/C 136 E/254)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3260/00

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission

(20 October 2000)

Subject: Presence of tropical insects in Europe

The Italian press has published reports of deaths caused by stings from insects previously unknown in Italy
and thought to be of tropical origin. In the case of a young woman from Cologno Monzese there was talk
of blood poisoning, caused by her being bitten by a tropical spider carrying a rare disease known as
Moschcowitz(cid:146)s disease. The resulting alarm among the population is linked to the fear that the presence of
tropical insects is caused by goods or persons entering the country illegally, i.e. without being checked by
the health authorities. On the other hand, the University of Parma is talking about climate change turning
Italy into a subtropical country. The World Health Organisation has long since raised the alarm about this,
calling on the competent authorities to take precautionary measures.

Can the Commission say whether:

1.

2.

3.

4.

it is aware of this situation;

it knows about the precautionary measures taken by the Italian health authorities;

if the claims made by academic experts are accurate, what steps it intends to take to safeguard public
health;

there are any appropriate measures (vaccinations, anti-viral treatments, etc.) to ensure immunity
against stings and bites from insects which are still unknown in Italy and Europe in general?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(6 December 2000)

The Commission is sensitive to the public concern that the increased circulation of goods and people as
well as environmental changes, in particular global climate change, could lead to a change in geographical
distribution of insects or other vectors of disease.

The specific case to which the Honourable Member refers has so far not been reported by the Italian health
authorities in the early warning system of the Community network for the epidemiological surveillance
and control of communicable diseases (1). This system foresees that Member States shall communicate to
the Community network, among other cases, information on unusual epidemic phenomena, new commu-
nicable diseases of unknown origin, as well as the appearance or resurgence of a communicable diseases or
an infectious agent which may require timely, coordinated Community action to contain it.

Many initiatives undertaken by the Community aim at protecting public health from the potential
increased risk due to climate change, such as the above mentioned Community network which brings
into permanent communication the institutes and public health authorities dealing with infectious diseases;
the proposed programme of Community action in the field of public health (2001-2006) (2) which
explicitly foresees as specific objectives and actions responding rapidly to health threats, enhancing the
capacity to tackle communicable diseases and addressing health determinants related to the environment;
and Community environmental policy which places the Community at the forefront of the international