EU Postal Liberalisation – Too Many Barriers Argues FFPI

09 December 2010 – Steve Lawson © Hellmail Postal News “After 20 years of discussions and finally the adoption of the Third Postal Directive, which foresees the full opening of the postal market, it is regretful to note that the development of competition in the postal market remains very slow.” – the opening paragraph of a ‘white paper’ by the FFPI (Free Fair Post Initiative), underlining growing concerns about the path for EU postal liberalisation.

The Third Postal Directive will see more European member states fully open their postal markets on 1st January 2011, but to date, only 6 EU Member States have fully opened markets, and although a further 11 will be added in January and it will still be another two years (2013) before the remaining 10 open their markets. The FFPI argues that disparity between member states on a whole range of issues including VAT, wage levels, labour rules and different regulatory regimes, are making the transition slow and that without the removal of these barriers, the transition will not provide a level playing field. [more]