WRITTEN QUESTION E-0585/02 by Jacqueline Foster (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Postal services.
Date: 2002-03-05
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU Member State, comparative analysis, competition, monopoly, postal charges, postal service, price disparity, provision of services, universal service

6.3.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 52 E/11

(2003/C 52 E/012)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0584/02

by Jacqueline Foster (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(5 March 2002)

Subject: Postal services

It may be the case that some EU postal operators are using the introduction of the euro as a pretext to
increase their letter rates without good reason, as has the case been in other industries. It is of the utmost
importance that the Commission ensures that European consumers do not pay more to send their letters
because of the introduction of the euro.

Can the Commission show that it is taking appropriate action in order to ensure that letter rates are not
raised unduly as result of the introduction of the euro?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(17 April 2002)

Under the postal Directive (1), Member States are obliged to ensure that tariffs for postal services within the
universal service are ‘affordable’ and ‘geared to costs’. Overseeing the application of this requirement is
primarily the responsibility of the Member States. This supervision is exercised through their regulatory
authorities.

Although no specific mechanism has been introduced to monitor postal tariff increases at the time of the
introduction of the euro, the Commission continually monitors the evolution of postal tariffs in the
Member States, and could eventually intervene, either on the basis of the postal Directive or competition
rules, if there are signs that any given tariff increase is not justified.

The Commission has repeatedly emphasized that the changeover to the euro should not be used for price
increases. Consensus among the Member States had moreover been established on the fact that the public
authorities should set a good example by not increasing the price or the cost of services under their
control (e.g. tariffs, taxes and subsidies, etc.)

So far, the Commission has not seen any indications that the introduction of the euro, in itself, may have
led to any undue increases in postal tariffs. However, the Commission will remain alert to this issue and, if
there are any signs that such an undue increase has occurred, will raise the issue with the relevant
authority in the Member State concerned.

(1) 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.

(2003/C 52 E/013)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0585/02

by Jacqueline Foster (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(5 March 2002)

Subject: Postal services

The EU postal sector suffers from very little real competition between operators. The national monopolies
completely dominate their home markets. Users, and indeed consumers, normally have only one service
provider to turn to. In the absence of liberalisation and true competition, market mechanisms are, with few
exceptions, prevented from creating downward pressure on prices for basic postal services.

The difference in prices for the most basic postal services in the EU is quite striking. German consumers
pay 223 % what Spanish consumers pay for a similar service (20 gramme letter). In Germany, the standard
rate price for a 20 gram letter is EUR 0,56. Germany’s population density is 230 inhabitants per square
km. The corresponding figures for Spain are EUR 0,24 and 78 inhabitants per square km. Differences in
the EU with regard to population density do not explain price differences. Furthermore, it should be noted
that the German postal operator, Deutsche Post, has announced that it would like to raise its letter rates.

C 52 E/12

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

6.3.2003

Without real competition between postal operators in the EU, it is impossible for consumers to assess
whether what they are paying for basic postal services is justifiable. The significant differences in letter
rates in the EU clearly indicate that consumers in certain Member States are being overcharged. Since the
Postal Directive sets out to provide EU citizens with postal services at affordable prices as one of its main
priorities, it appears that the EC is failing to achieve its aim.

Can the Commission explain what it is currently doing and what it intends to do in the future in order to
tackle the problem of letter rate differentials in the EU and the underlying causes of those differences in
order to ensure that consumers are not being overcharged?

(2003/C 52 E/014)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0586/02

by Jacqueline Foster (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(5 March 2002)

Subject: Postal services

The Commission has introduced an effective system to monitor price differentials in the EU car sector. DG
Competition regularly publishes studies that show the prices that consumers have to pay for the main car
makes and models in every Member State. These studies have become a useful and powerful instrument for
the Commission to fight breaches of the competition rules in the car sector and to promote changes of the
internal market rules. Differences in car prices in the EU currently vary between approximately 10 % and,
in extreme cases, up to 50 %.

In the EU postal sector, the differences in prices for similar postal services vary considerably. Consumers in
Germany pay 2,33 times the price that Spanish consumers pay for a similar, basic service. Whereas buyers
of cars can choose from multiple makes and supply channels, buyers of postal services are generally bound
to one supplier, the national monopoly. Therefore, the effectiveness of the EC’s efforts to ensure that
consumers are not overcharged is crucial for the functioning of the market.

It seems that regular studies of price differentials for basic postal services, and their causes, are needed in
order to ensure that consumers in the EU are not being overcharged, that EC competition rules are not
being breached and that the Commission can adequately tackle internal market distortions. Such data
would, for instance, help the Commission to determine whether the revenues from the postal operators’
monopolies were not being misused for purposes that lie outside the universal service obligation in ways
In addition, such data would increase the Commission’s
that are contrary to the Postal Directive.
understanding of the postal market with regard to future EC liberalisation measures.

Can the Commission intimate its view on the introduction of a monitoring system for the postal sector,
similar to the one used to monitor car prices and taking the characteristics of the postal market into
consideration?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-0585/02 and E-0586/02
given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(23 April 2002)

As indicated in the answer to written question E-0584/02 by the Honourable Member, under the Postal
Directive (1), Member States are obliged to ensure that tariffs for postal services within the universal service
are ‘affordable’ and ‘geared to costs’. Overseeing the application of these requirements is primarily the
responsibility of the Member States.

In order to ensure compliance with these principles, the Commission continuously monitors the evolution
of postal tariffs in the Member States, and would intervene, if appropriate, either on the basis of the Postal
Directive or on the competition rules.