Full competition in EU postal markets
On 18 October, 2006, the European Commission put forward a proposal to open EU postal markets fully to competition by 2009, in order to accomplish a truly ‘Single Market' and in line with the agreed target date set out in the current Postal Directive. As the provision of postal services is an important issue for consumers, the following text should give you some answers to the most frequently asked questions.
What exactly is going to happen?
At the moment, in most of the EU, you have no choice but to use your national postal operator when you send or receive a normal letter. This is because it has a monopoly on standard mail below certain sizes and weights. But from 2009 this is going to change. New companies will be able to compete for your custom and deliver mail directly to you. This is known as ‘full market opening', and it is the next step in a long reform process in the EU that has already seen large areas of your country's postal market opened to competition, such as express and parcel deliveries, with very encouraging results. On the basis of extensive research, we believe that opening standard mail to competition will be equally successful, motivating your national operator to become even more customer-focused and unlocking the potential for innovative new services and products. But without full competition, postal markets will be increasingly unable to meet the challenges of the communications revolution.
Will I still be able to send and receive mail as I do now?
You will still be able to send a letter from anywhere to anywhere within your country at the same affordable rate. And you will still have mail delivered to your home every working day. These essentials, which together are known as the ‘universal service', will not change. What's more, full market opening will bring with it better consumer protection for you, and more monitoring powers for national regulators to ensure high-quality, reliable services.
What kind of new services could be offered?
Full competition will encourage postal operators to offer you more innovative ways to send and receive mail – for example: ‘track and trace', as offered by some parcel delivery companies today combining traditional mail and email, enabling you to send electronic documents by post at the touch of a button, or to receive a letter by email prior to receiving it by post automated parcel stations where you can send or receive parcels round the clock pre-franked envelopes; new and innovative mail sizes and formats alerts via email or SMS informing you where and when a parcel will be delivered to you, or that your parcel has arrived at its destination more control over time and place of delivery, according to your needs and convenience.
Will I still have access to post boxes and post offices?
You will continue to have access to a post box within a reasonable distance from your home, as you do now. And post offices will remain a central part of local communities. The main change is likely to be that your national operator will open more postal service points, in more convenient locations and with longer opening hours, such as in supermarkets, shops and petrol stations, or even temporarily at holiday locations by means of mobile post offices.
But isn't there a risk that my national operator could go out of business?
No. National operators will be around for many years to come. Most are currently making significant profits and experience shows that market opening actually reinforces their customer focus, efficiency, and reliability. In addition, special funds and measures will be put in place to help them should they suffer difficulties in the short term after the introduction of full competition.
How will competition affect prices?
Mail prices have been rising in most EU countries for the past few years, in line with increasing fuel and transport costs. In the consumer market, it is certainly possible that they will continue to rise in the short term after full competition is introduced, while remaining affordable and closely monitored by the national regulatory authority. So any price increases would again be due to increasing costs rather than the introduction of competition itself. In the long term, prices are likely to fall overall. Meanwhile, prices for high-volume business mail are likely to fall very soon after market opening, as most new postal companies will focus on this area to begin with.
Will stamps continue to exist?
National operators will continue to provide stamps as before. Companies may introduce their own stamps, or they may choose to develop alternatives, such as adhesive labels or pre-printed envelopes. EU-wide stamps will not be introduced. However, if a certain company operates in multiple EU countries then it may choose to make its stamps valid for use in all those countries.
Where can I find out more?
You can find out more about full market opening, together with links to your national operators and regulatory authorities, at the following European Commission website: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/post/index_en.htm
