COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION of Directive 97/67/EC on common rules for the development of the internal market of Community postal services and the improvement of quality of service amended by Directives 2002/39/EC and 2008/6/EC (Postal Services Directive) Accompanying the REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the Application of the Postal Services Directive (Directive 97/67/EC as amended by Directive 2002/39/EC and 2008/6/EC)
Date: 2021-11-08
Institutions: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
Subjects: EU competition policy, application of EU law, digitisation, electronic commerce, freight rate, innovation, provision of services, single market, technological change, universal service

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 8.11.2021  SWD(2021) 310 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION  of  Directive 97/67/EC on common rules for the development of the internal market of Community postal services and the improvement of quality of service amended by Directives 2002/39/EC and 2008/6/EC      (Postal Services Directive)  Accompanying the REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL  on the Application of the Postal Services Directive (Directive 97/67/EC as amended by Directive 2002/39/EC and 2008/6/EC) {COM(2021) 674 final} - {SEC(2021) 388 final} - {SWD(2021) 309 final}  
 
 
The EU postal services (letter mail and parcels) sector is a key enabler of the economy and of 
trade,  underpinning  other  sectors  and  contributing  to  the  growth  and  resilience  of  the  EU 
economy. Companies of all sizes use postal services to build their business, supply goods and 
receive payments. All levels of government and public administrations rely on postal services 
for public communications, and vulnerable users and citizens in rural remote areas need postal 
services  to  remain  connected  to  an  increasingly  digitalised  economy.  The  postal  services 
sector hence plays an essential role in ensuring the right to communication and in promoting 
territorial,  social  and  economic  cohesion.  With  many  EU  citizens  confined  in  their  homes 
during  the  COVID-19  pandemic,  postal  services  have  proven  more  important  than  ever, 
providing  not  only  affordable  and  quality  postal  services  but  also  delivering  products  for 
medical  purposes  and  providing  other  publicly  relevant  services  such  as,  for  example, 
financial services to citizens.  

The regulatory framework governing postal services has been in place for more than 20 years.  
Directive 97/67/EC1 (the “Postal Services Directive”) came into force in 1997 with the aim of 
providing for harmonization of national universal service obligations while at the same time 
gradually  introducing  competition  in  the  postal  services  sector.  It  was  amended  in  2002  to 
provide for further market opening, and again in 2008 to complete full market opening.  With 
the exception of these two amendments  and the Regulation  on cross-border parcel  delivery2 
adopted  in  2018  to  provide  more  transparency  and  regulatory  oversight  regarding  parcel 
delivery  operators,  the  EU  postal  services  framework  has  remained  the  same  since  1997.  
During  this  period,  however,  postal  services  markets  have  undergone  a  major  shift  largely 
driven by technological innovation, digitization and e-commerce.  Letter mail has increasingly 
been replaced by electronic communication, especially in the context of e-government.  At the 
same  time,  e-commerce  has  led  to  a  significant  increase  in  parcel  delivery  services.  This 
transformation, which has become increasingly apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic, has 
affected both demand and supply in all Member States (albeit to a varying extent).   

Prompted by the fundamental changes to the market context the Commission carried out  an 
ex-post evaluation to assess whether the Postal Services Directive has achieved its objectives, 
is still fit for purpose and matches the present and future needs of postal users and operators. 

The  main  conclusion  of  the  Evaluation  is  that  maintaining  some  form  of  universal  postal 
service  for  all  EU  citizens  is  justified,  although  with  an  appropriate  level  of  flexibility  for 
Member States to design postal policies at national level. At the same time, the evaluation has 
identified issues that are not sufficiently reflected in the current Postal Services Directive or 
where  the  Directive  has  not  delivered  expected  results:  (i)  universal  postal  services  offer 
declining benefits to society while universal service provision has become increasingly costly; 
(ii) the achievement of an internal market  and stimulating effective competition in the letter 
mail segment; and (iii) an insufficient use of standards, which reduces legal certainty and may 

1   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, as amended by Directive 2002/39/EC and 2008/6/EC, OJ L 15, 21.1.1998, pages 14 to 25. 

2   Regulation (EU) 2018/644 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 April 2018 on cross-border 

parcel delivery services, OJ L 112, 2.5.2018, pages 19 to 28. 

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lead  to  interoperability  issues.  In  addition,  the  large  price  differentials  between  tariffs  for 
domestic and cross-border deliveries would also deserve particular attention.  

2