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Regulation. Quo Vadis?

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The Contribution of the Postal and Delivery Sector

Part of the book series: Topics in Regulatory Economics and Policy ((TREP))

Abstract

2017 marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the first European Postal Directive. What has been achieved? Is Regulation still needed? The Postal Directive had two objectives. The first objective was to ensure the gradual and controlled liberalization of the European postal services market. The second objective was to address concerns that in a fully liberalized market the services offered on an economic basis would not meet the needs of users or guarantee them fair and non-discriminatory treatment.

Formerly vice-chair CERP and Project Manager Postal Regulation, ComReg

This paper represents the personal views of the author and should not be taken to represent the policy of ComReg, CERP, or any other organization.

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Notes

  1. 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 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 June 2002 and Directive 2008/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 February 2008.

  2. 2.

    As early as 1969 the British Government created a government corporation, “the Post Office”, to provide postal services. Today this structure is the norm within the EU, and in 19 of the now 28 EU Member States the government owns or controls the incumbent postal operator, through a State owned company or corporation. In another eight countries the State has ceded control and / or ownership to private sector companies.

  3. 3.

    E.g. British Telecommunications Act 1981

  4. 4.

    Domestic mail which is transported, physically or electronically, to another country and then mailed back to the country of origin to obtain a lower price; made possible by below cost terminal dues for cross-border mail.

  5. 5.

    Case C-320/91 Paul Corbeau 19 May 1993, [1993] ECR 1–2563

  6. 6.

    Directive 97/67, Recital 8.

  7. 7.

    See COM (2015) 568 final op cit

  8. 8.

    Directive 97/67, Recital 2

  9. 9.

    Communication from the Commission. Services of general interest in Europe (2001/C 17/04), Brussels, 19.0.2001 point 14

  10. 10.

    See in particular case T-289/03 British United Provident Association Ltd. (BUPA), BUPA Insurance Ltd. and BUPA Ireland Ltd. v Commission of the European Communities [2008] ECR II-81.

  11. 11.

    Directive 97/67, Article 3

  12. 12.

    WiK (2004) reported exceptional geographical conditions mean that more than three percent of the Greek population were served less than five days per week, and in ten more countries under one percent were affected

  13. 13.

    Letters only, not parcels

  14. 14.

    Directive 97/67, Article 17(1)

  15. 15.

    See Notice from the Commission on the application of the competition rules to the postal sector and on the assessment of certain State measures relating to postal services (98/C 39/02) 06/02/1998

  16. 16.

    See COM (2015) 568 final op. cit.

  17. 17.

    See WiK (2013)

  18. 18.

    In euro. The nominal prices shown will be affected by movements in exchange rates between the national currency and euro.

  19. 19.

    Some countries are excluded from the report because Deutsche Post did not have all the information needed for the period 1996–2006.

  20. 20.

    See COM (2015) 568 final op. cit.

  21. 21.

    Case C-275/16, Comune di Balzola et al.

  22. 22.

    See Groves P, “The 2016 European Commission Proposal for a Regulation on Cross-Border Parcels: an assessment of the objectives, background, issues and potential impacts” in this book

  23. 23.

    Or in exceptional circumstances the receiver, but not both.

  24. 24.

    “The Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR)” Geneva, 19th May 1956″.

  25. 25.

    Some operators now charge for “postal parcels” by size or by dimensional/volumetric weight if applicable.

  26. 26.

    I.e. where individual negotiation is not feasible.

  27. 27.

    Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights, amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 85/577/EEC and Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council

  28. 28.

    Under the UPU Convention the receiver can normally claim compensation from the postal company which delivered the item.

  29. 29.

    See for example http://www.marksandspencer.eu/de_DE. This website is in German, there is a German telephone number and an address in Kelsterbach, Germany for returns. Revocation of an order under the Consumer Rights Directive must be sent to an address in Cologne. The ‘small print’ reveals that the customer is dealing with Marks and Spencer (Ireland) Limited.

  30. 30.

    Meaning that the e-retailer bears any exchange rate risk.

  31. 31.

    In 2017 at least three companies, An Post (Ireland), La Posted (France) and Royal Mail (UK), increased prices in late March or April. These price increases would not be reflected on the website until March 2018.

  32. 32.

    See COM (2015) 568 final op. cit.

  33. 33.

    See COM (2015) 568 final op. cit.

References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Formerly vice-chair CERP and Project Manager Postal Regulation, ComReg, Dublin, Ireland

    John Hearn

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  1. John Hearn
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Correspondence to John Hearn .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. European University Institute, RSCAS, Florence School of Regulation Communication & Media, Florence, Italy

    Pier Luigi Parcu

  2. School of Public Policy, UMBC, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Timothy Brennan

  3. Rutgers Business School, Newark, New Jersey, USA

    Victor Glass

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Hearn, J. (2018). Regulation. Quo Vadis?. In: Parcu, P., Brennan, T., Glass, V. (eds) The Contribution of the Postal and Delivery Sector. Topics in Regulatory Economics and Policy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70672-6_6

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