Italian government gives financial support for worldwide postal service

The Italian government has announced that it will allocate 860 million euro to guarantee worldwide postal service in the 2003-2005 period. 415 million euro have already been allocated for the year 2003, whereas 222.076 million euros will be earmarked for the years 2004 and 2005. These allocations are provided for by the 2003-2005 agreement signed by the Communications and Finance Ministers and Poste Italiane, the Italian mail joint-stock company. Poste Italiane have pledged to supply a quality-oriented service and to comply with the guidelines set out by its company plan. “The governmentÂ’s allocations will bring about increased company competitiveness and reduce costs related to worldwide postal services”, a note reads. Poste Italiane pledges to gradually “reduce worldwide postal expenses over the next three years”, in accordance with its company plan. The company is also committed to increase revenues by adopting price caps and increasing fares for confidential services.