The aim of the postal services directive is to ensure that affordable, high quality and efficient postal services are available throughout the EU. Ongoing technological, economic and social developments, which are underpinning a decline in letter mail volumes, and growing parcel volumes are continuing to change the use of, and need for, postal services in the future.
Policy objectives
The objective of European postal policy is to ensure that affordable, permanent, high-quality postal services are available on 5 working days per week (with exemptions) throughout the EU. The postal market has gradually been opened to competition and has been fully liberalised since January 2013.
The core aims of EU postal policy are to
- ensure high-quality universal postal services for consumers and businesses at affordable prices
- improve the quality of services, in particular relating to routing times
- establish independent national regulatory authorities that have sufficient resources and are entrusted with postal regulation (oversight, statistics, authorisation, tariff control, accounting, complaints procedures etc.)
The European Commission is monitoring developments in the postal market and commissions a number of studies on the postal sector, which are an important part of evidence-based policymaking.
Broad stakeholder engagement is essential in a labour intensive sector that is important for society, citizens and enterprises. Key stakeholders in the postal sector include national regulatory authorities, national postal operators (i.e. universal service providers), other postal operators (including express operators), new entrants to the postal market, users/consumers, social partners and ministries in EU countries.
Related links
Latest public stakeholder workshops on postal services organised by the Commission
Contact us
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ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (grow-c3[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)