Germany plans to extend Deutsche Post letter monopoly beyond 2002

The German government plans to extend the national monopoly held by Deutsche Post in letter delivery beyond 2002, because of the lack of EU-wide liberalisation in the matter, economy minister Werner Mueller said on Friday.

The German post office law, which foresees a partial end to Deutsche Post’s
monopoly position by the end of 2002, would have to be changed to allow such
an extension, Mueller said at a news conference here.

Since there was no date for liberalisation at a European level, the
national monopoly in Germany would have to be extended, Mueller argued.

Under German law, Deutsche Post’s monopoly in the delivery of letters
weighing up to 200 grammes is scheduled to end on December 31, 2002.

Deutsche Post, partially privatised in November, makes most of its profits
from the service.

spm/wai
AFP ENGLISH, 09th February 2001