Belgium sets up post-market clash

Date: 06/09/01

By Peter Chapman

France, Luxembourg and Greece are battling to protect their monopoly post services as Belgium leads the offensive to set a 2009 date for full liberalisation.

The trio argue thousands of postal workers' jobs and rural deliveries can only be guaranteed - in the short term at least - by keeping the last vestiges of a monopoly away from the grasp of rivals from home and abroad.

Diplomats say they are on collision course with eight member states which backed the 2009 plan - the common denominator in three timetable scenarios for opening up the sector - tabled by the Belgian presidency at a behind-the-scenes debate late last month.

Favourite choice of the 2009 supporters is a plan to open letter markets for both ordinary and direct 'junk' mail weighing more than 100g by 2003. This would drop to 50g in 2006 before the barriers were lifted altogether in 2009.

Thanks to the Union's system of qualified majority voting, diplomats say the French-led opposition could still be decisive in scuppering a deal at the 15 October single market ministers meeting in Brussels.

Failure to thrash out an agreement then would be a serious blow for reformers who have a watchful eye on forthcoming elections in France and Germany.

Germany is extending the monopoly of Deutsche Post until 2007, after originally planning to stop it on 1 January 2003, citing stalled liberalisation talks as the reason.

The UK put the issue on hold ahead of June's election to avoid alienating voters in remote areas who fear service would suffer if liberalisation goes ahead. Tony Blair's government says it will examine the results of a new study before it decides which position to take.

Private sector firms have pushed hard for a final date for full market opening. They claim this would give them the certainty they needed to invest in new services. They also grumble that state-owned firms ignore EU state aid and competition rules to use their monopoly profits to finance huge shopping sprees into liberalised sections of the market.

But France and its allies have always balked at the idea, arguing that there should be a proper cost-and-benefit analysis before the Union takes any decisive step.

France, Luxembourg and Greece are battling to protect their monopoly post services as Belgium leads the offensive to set a 2009 date for full liberalisation.