France's La Poste wants minimum service guarantees financed by new entrants
French state-owned post office La Poste said that as part of the planned liberalisation of the European postal markets in 2009, new entrants should be required to finance minimum service guarantees.
La Poste CEO Jean-Paul Bailly said he will ask the EU Commission to authorise a system where companies hoping to offer rival postal services must either promise to ensure universal service for consumer mail, or else contribute to a central fund.
‘The commission considers that it is necessary to maintain a harmonised universal service across Europe,’ Bailly said in an interview with French daily Le Monde.
Currently, La Poste offsets losses from ensuring daily consumer mail services throughout France with the profits from business mail, express delivery and other services.
