MEPs split as vote on postal service looms

Date: 21/02/02

By Peter Chapman

CENTRE-RIGHT and socialist MEPs were on collision course ahead of today's (21 February) crucial vote on the future of Europe's postal markets.

Deputies on the regional policy and transport committee were last night still divided on how quickly the Union's postal monopolies must cede some of their protected market share to rivals.

Under a deal struck last year, member states agreed to cut the weight band they could reserve for national post offices from 350 grams to 100g by 2003.

But ahead of today's vote, two of the key protagonists could not agree whether the Commission should launch a study into the impact of the next step in the liberalisation programme, which would cut the reserved area from 100g to 50g by 2006.

Rapporteur Markus Ferber wants the Commission to conduct a regular two-yearly 'review' of postal market trends. This would not affect the switch to a 50g weight limit. But he said Parliament should still have a say on the terms of reference for another proposed study to assess the effects of opening up the market totally in 2009.

Meanwhile, socialist spokesman Brian Simpson said his group was backing an amendment tabled by France's Gilles Savary in favour of a tightly focused Commission study looking at the impact of the 2006 change. Simpson said this would cover the effect any cut in the postal operators' reserved area would have on deliveries to rural areas and on post office jobs.

Preview of the crucial vote on the future of Europe's postal markets, 21 February 2002.