Postal Pipeline Liberalization

Abstract

The European Commission has accepted in their communication on Services of General Interest in Europe (96/ C 281/3) that the aggressive pursuit of liberalization has “...given rise to worries about the future of these services accompanied by concerns over employment and economic and social cohesion” among a number of Member States with strong public service traditions. The Commission, of course, denies that there is any conflict between competition and public service and argues that further liberalization will both improve quality and reduce prices. However, this paper seeks to argue that in one important respect critics of the Commission have been right to argue that the Commission’s policies on liberalization in the postal services market could indeed endanger a fundamental principle which underpins most public postal services throughout Europe, namely the uniform tariff or péréquation tarifaire.