Commission Decision of 10 August 2010 establishing the European Regulators Group for Postal Services  Text with EEA relevance

11.8.2010 EN Official Journal of the European Union C 217/7
COMMISSION DECISION
of 10 August 2010
establishing the European Regulators Group for Postal Services
(Text with EEA relevance)
2010/C 217/07
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Whereas:
(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 services establishes a regulatory framework concerning the conditions governing the provision of postal services within the European Union and the establishment of the internal market for postal services.
(2) Directive 97/67/EC requires Member States to designate one or more national regulatory authorities for the postal sector, in order to carry out regulatory tasks specified in that Directive. Those national regulatory authorities should be legally separate from and operationally independent of the postal operators of Member States. Member States that retain ownership or control of postal service providers must also ensure effective structural separation of the regulatory functions from activities associated with ownership or control.
(3) The responsibilities and tasks of the national regulatory authorities differ significantly between the Member States.
(4) Directive 97/67/EC leaves flexibility in certain areas to apply the common rules in the light of national conditions. In order to achieve a successful development of an internal market for postal services, a consistent application of the relevant rules in all Member States is essential.
(5) It is therefore necessary to set up a group composed of the national regulatory authorities in the field of postal services and to define its tasks and its structure.
(6) The group should serve as a body for reflection, discussion and advice to the Commission in the postal services field. It should facilitate consultation, coordination and cooperation between the independent national regulatory authorities in the Member States, and between those authorities and the Commission, with a view to consolidating the internal market for postal services and ensuring the consistent application in all Member States of Directive 97/67/EC.
(7) Rules on disclosure of information by members of the group should be provided for, without prejudice to the Commission’s rules on security as set out in the Annex to Commission Decision 2001/844/EC, ECSC, Euratom (1).
(8) Personal data relating to members of the group should be processed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (2),