COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT Accompanying the document Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on cross-border parcel delivery services
Date: 2016-05-25
Institutions: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
Subjects: carriage of goods, consumer information, delivery, electronic commerce, freight rate, postal service, provision of services, single market, universal service

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   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 25.5.2016  SWD(2016) 167 final   COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT  Accompanying the document Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council  on cross-border parcel delivery services {COM(2016) 285 final} {SWD(2016) 166 final}  
 
 
Executive Summary Sheet 
Impact assessment on cross-border parcel delivery 

A. Need for action 

Why? What is the problem being addressed?  
High prices for cross-border delivery for e-retailers and consumers, in particular in remote areas and for SMEs, 
are an obstacle to cross border e-commerce.  The high prices are caused by relatively high barriers to market 
entry, which may limit the development of competition with wide geographic coverage, and by the low volumes of 
small sender which reduce their bargaining power, leading to higher prices and fewer delivery options on offer 
for  small  e-retailers  and  individuals.  Furthermore,  the  limited  mandate  of  many  national  regulatory  authorities 
(NRAs)  to  monitor  the  cross-border  parcel  market  results  in  a  lack  of  information  needed  to  identify  possible 
market failures or other regulatory concerns. Retailers and consumers also lack information about the range of 
delivery options available to them. Differences in the scope of the universal service obligation between Member 
States means that the Postal Services Directive (97/67/EC)1 alone is not sufficient to ensure affordable prices for 
the services used for e-commerce. 

What is this initiative expected to achieve?  
The  objectives  are  to  make  regulatory  oversight  more  effective;  to  enhance  transparency  concerning  the 
availability  and  price  of  different  cross-border  delivery  services;  and  to  encourage  competition.  This  should 
reduce the cross-border parcel prices paid by individual consumers and smaller e-retailers, particularly in remote 
areas. The quality of cross-border delivery services is being addressed separately.  

What is the value added of action at the EU level?  
In the absence of a concerted approach at the EU level, action at the national level alone is unlikely to address 
the  cross-border  issues  identified  above.  The  different  approaches  or  interpretations  of  the  current  regulatory 
framework  (in  particular  the  Postal  Services  Directive)  have  led  to  an  uneven  level  playing  field  for  delivery 
operators  acting  in  different  Member  States  and  unequal  levels  of  protection  for  SMEs  and  citizens  trying  to 
benefit  from  the  (digital)  single  market.  Individual  Member  States  cannot  effectively  address  obstacles  to  the 
internal market, as trans-European delivery networks are covered by several jurisdictions. 

B. Solutions 

What  legislative  and  non-legislative  policy  options  have  been  considered?  Is  there  a  preferred 
choice or not? Why?  
Different options for price transparency and regulatory powers have been examined. The preferred choice is:  
(1)  Enhanced  transparency  by  publishing  prices  of  selected  products  of  different  cross-border  delivery  service 
providers  on  a  dedicated  section  on  the  Commission's  EUROPA  website  and  requiring  NRAs  to  assess  their 
affordability.  
(2) Improving regulatory oversight by clarifying all parcel delivery operators (above a certain size) are required to 
submit a basic set of statistical data to NRAs.  
(3) Encouraging competition, by requiring third party access to the cross-border networks and multilateral price 
agreements of national postal operators (NPOs). 
Other  options  considered  and  rejected  included  increasing  the  transparency  of  individually  negotiated  prices 
and/  or  the  prices  paid  by  e-retailers  to  delivery  operator,  and  advance  notification  (to  regulators)  of  price 
changes.  

A  self-standing  Regulation  allows  a  swift  implementation  of  targeted  and  directly  applicable  rules,  reducing 
fragmentation. Uniform rules would give legal certainty to all operators on the market. Non-legislative measures, 
for  example  the  2013  Roadmap  for  Completing  the  Single  Market  for  Parcel  Delivery2  have  not  improved 
affordability  or  regulatory  oversight  to  date.  Given  the  rapid  changes  in  some  parts  of  the  market  and  limited 
market knowledge, price regulation is not proposed.   

Who supports which option?  
Retailers and consumers support measures that reduce prices. NPOs are against regulatory intervention, 
believing markets are competitive. The express industry wants harmonisation of regulatory frameworks, yet 
criticises more oversight by NRAs. NRAs acknowledge the current lack of market data, but caution against new 
ex-ante powers. The European Parliament has called for a balanced and well targeted measure. Member States 
do not want price regulation. 

What are the benefits of the preferred option (if any, otherwise main ones)?                                       

C. Impacts of the preferred option 

1 As amended by Directives 2002/39/EC and 2008/6/EC 
2 COM(2013) 886 final  

 
                                                            
                                      
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Improved market knowledge for NRAs will give them better market oversight and enable them to monitor market 
developments.. The price website and NRAs' affordability assessments will highlight (too) high prices, and create 
pressure  for  more  reasonable  prices  to  be  offered.    This  would  benefit  small  e-retailers  and  consumers  in 
particular.    Delivery  operators  would  benefit  from  an  increase  in  demand  for  cross-border  delivery  services. 
Access to multilateral agreements will help delivery operators enter the market and reduce NPOs' costs.   

What are the costs of the preferred option (if any, otherwise main ones)?                                       
The  estimated  cost  is  under  €500  000  (€221  000  for  regulators,  €20,000  for  national  postal  operators  and 
€170,000 for other delivery operators), based on the EU standard cost model and the Commission's statistical 
experience.  

How will businesses, SMEs and micro-enterprises be affected?  

The  proposal  should  reduce delivery prices  so  smaller  e-retailers  can sell  more.  Delivery  operators  with  fewer 
than 50 employees and who are only established in one Member State would be exempted from the requirement 
to provide data to NRAs.  

Will there be significant impacts on national budgets and administrations?  
Member  States  may  face  additional  costs  if  NRAs  are  funded  through  national  budgets  and  require  additional 
resources.  

Will there be other significant impacts?  
No.  Delivery  operators  from  third  countries  willing  to  offer  services  in  the  EU  would  need  to  comply  with  the 
same rules.  

D. Follow up 

When will the policy be reviewed?  
A report two years after adoption will review the Regulation and include progress on other initiatives to complete 
the single market for parcel delivery.