A well-functioning Single Market needs a well-functioning postal market
date: 18/10/2023
In her keynote speech, GROW Director-General Kerstin Jorna stressed that the postal sector is at the heart of the Single Market and thus faces the same challenges: the twin transition, the skills gap, and need for competitiveness. It will benefit from horizontal EU-level action and policies and a renewed EU postal policy framework that is fit for the future.
The Forum explored the future of letter mail, that has been declining for the last two decades. The various trends and drivers impacting letters manifest to different extents across the different segments of the letter business and different geographies, making it unwise to adopt a one-size-fits-all regulatory solution. Still, understanding and predicting the trends of letter post is essential for designing effective postal policies. At global level the postal sector has been undergoing severe disruptions since 2020. A difficult and unstable business environment, affected by economic recession, energy crisis, rising transport costs, regulatory changes, and a sharp drop in volumes from China, have adversely impacted EU's postal operators.
Under these circumstances, stakeholders explored the question of whether postal-specific regulation is needed to manage the transition of the sector. A “greenfield” approach to the revision of the EU postal framework was proposed, to address the present-day needs of the postal sector. While the need to ensure and finance the universal service remains uncontested, there were diverging opinions on how to ensure correct cost allocation and accounting to avoid over/undercompensating. New rules are needed to better protect the interests of receivers of e-commerce parcels, who are not in a contractual relation with the delivery operators. A representative of the postal workers pointed out declining working conditions in the sector and highlighted the importance of the social dimension. There was consensus that sectoral regulation should not be overburdened by including already existing horizontal rules.
The Forum also looked at the ERGP draft Working Programme for 2024, which is under public consultation until 6 October. In her closing speech, GROW Investment Director Merete Clausen called for reflection on what kind of universal service will be needed in the future.