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The Cost of Non-Competition for Postal Users

These 3 short stories seek to demonstrate the cost of non-competition in the postal sector for users of postal services:

1. The cost of Non-liberalisation in the EU: Unjustified stamp price differentials
2. The real bearers of the cost of the postal operators’ shopping sprees
3. The cost of Non-compliance with EU competition market rules
   

In a nutshell, as a result of the lack of competition in the postal market, consumers and users of postal services will continue to suffer from limited choice, frequent poor quality of service and excessive prices.

Postal users consider that the EC’s current ad-hoc and, too often, snail-speed approach to attacking market distortions seriously undermine users’ confidence in the EC’s ability to prevent further competitive distortions. Unfortunately, postal users risk suffering from these distortions for a long time to come. However, the Commission’s many recent decisions in the postal sector are a very positive sign that the EC is finally getting serious. 2002 can be a decisive year in seeking to uphold a level playing field in the postal sector.

The purpose of the stories is to underline the importance of the Commission’s role in providing adequate responses to these problems.