Germany to seek deal on opening EU postal services to competition

Germany is to try to broker an agreement in June on the highly sensitive issue of breaking open the monopolies of national postal services for letter delivery in the EU, a diplomat said Thursday.

Berlin, which takes over the EU's rotating presidency next month, has set itself the "ambitious target" of getting a deal on plans to liberalize the letter delivery service during a June ministerial meeting, according to the EU diplomat.

The plans also require backing from the European Parliament to go ahead.

After earlier waves of postal liberalization in 1997 and 2002, the markets for the delivery of packages and letters weighing more than 50 grams are already open to competition.

In October, the European Commission laid out plans to complete the opening of the European Union's postal services market to competition by 2009, despite fierce opposition from some countries.

The European Union's executive arm is eager to build on the perceived success of Britain, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, which have already opened their postal market to competition.

The commission's proposal would do away with state monopolies for the delivery of letters weighing less than 50 grams by 2009 while guaranteeing postal delivery services throughout each country.

Although some national post offices have gradually warmed to the idea of full competition, many are concerned about how they will meet a requirement for at least one delivery and collection of mail per week for each citizen, even in remote areas.

The commission has predicted few changes for consumers, saying that new competitors would probably try to differentiate themselves from existing state-controlled post offices with lower cost and tailor-made services.