European Parliament Committee Proposes Amendments for 3rd Postal Directive

PRESS RELEASE                                                                

Brussels, 20 June 2007

European Parliament Committee Proposes Amendments for 3^rd Postal Directive 

The Transport Committee of the European Parliament agreed Tuesday in Strasbourg on amendments to the 3^rd Postal Directive.

The main amendments centered on the date of the final liberalisation of the Postal Sector. The European Commission had proposed 31 December 2008 as the date when all national public postal operators had to give up their “reserved area” (or monopoly, over the last 10 years this reserved area has slowly been reduced to 50 grams).

The EP Transport Committee has asked for a delay until 31 December 2010 for most Member States, but 31 December 2012 for the new Member States and any Member State which has a particularly difficult geographic area to cover ( a country with many islands, for example).

An attempt to reduce the so-called Universal Service (the services which must be given to mailers and citizens) was not accepted.

“It will be interesting to see precisely which countries are allowed to delay liberalisation to 2013”, said Alastair Tempest, Director General, FEDMA. “The Committee’s proposed amendments have to be voted in the plenary session of the European Parliament during the week of 9 – 12 July and then the Member States must agree a revised directive in the Autumn, he added.

For more information, please contact Anne Marheim Støren.

ENDS

Note to Editor

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