Post Danmark : Postal liberalisation can wait, minister says
The transport and energy minister has indicated that a free market for the nation’s postal services is not a pressing priority
Competitors of Post Danmark will probably have to exercise ample patience before the market is fully liberalised, according to Jakob Axel Nielsen, the transport and energy minister.
The European Commission decided earlier this month that it would put its postal liberalisation plans on hold until 2011 instead of the original January 2009 target date. Nielsen told Jyllands-Posten newspaper on Tuesday that the 2009 goal for the complete liberalisation of Denmark’s postal services was probably too optimistic anyway.
‘The timeframe isn’t that important,’ said Nielsen. ‘What’s important is finding a good solution.’
Post Danmark currently has a monopoly on all mail under 50 grams, which is the lion’s share of letters and small packages. But after announcing earlier this month that customers can expect a lower level of service and higher prices, competitors are chomping at the bit for the opportunity to take a slice of the market.
At the same time, Nielsen’s fellow Conservative, Henriette Kjær, the party’s spokesperson on postal issues, had also said that the liberalisation of the postal market could be achieved by 2009.
Both the Norwegian postal service and Swedish-owned private company CityMail have invested considerable sums to challenge Post Danmark’s dominance of the country’s mail services with an eye towards a 2009 liberalisation.
‘That’s been the signal from the EU all along,’ said Jarle Trandokken, CityMail’s managing director. ‘So it’s a bit unfortunate that the minister now says the timing isn’t important when it is for us, the market and the customers. The only ones it doesn’t affect are those sitting on the market with a monopoly.’
But Nielsen said that freeing up the market so quickly might well result in a drastic fall in the overall level of postal service.
‘I understand the clients that are looking for an expedient liberalisation,’ he said. ‘But there are also a lot of customers who expect quality service nationwide.’
Legislators have not agreed on a fixed model for postal service liberalisation, but Nielsen said one solution included a fund that newcomers to the postal market would pay into, to finance Post Danmark’s obligatory service to outlying areas.
