German postal monopoly is extended
The German parliament yesterday approved a law extending until 2007 the monopoly on letters delivery of the Deutsche Post, Germany’s dominant postal and logistic group.
The monopoly had been due to run out in December 2002, but has been extended because of the slow progress made within the European Union towards liberalisation of postal services. The economics ministry in Berlin said the original timetable had been set to coincide with the gradual opening up of postal services across the EU, but “since this has stalled, we don’t find it fair to open our market at this time”.
Little progress has been made in recent months on European Commission plans to promote greater competition in postal services.
Sweden, which currently holds the EU presidency, had tabled the issue for discussion at a telecommunications council meeting on Wednesday, but had to remove the item from the agenda because of continued opposition, especially from Britain and France.
The Deutsche Post, which is majority owned by the government, still relies on letter delivery for approximately 75 per cent of its profits, despite recent moves to branch out into logistics and other areas.
Critics argue that the monopoly has been extended in part to protect this profitable business area.
Before the government’s proposal to extend the monopoly was made public in late 2000, dozens of private companies – many from outside Germany – had expressed interest in competing in the letters delivery market once the monopoly was lifted.
The economics ministry said that while the European Commission was unhappy with the monopoly extension, it understood Germany’s position because of the slow progress at the EU level.
“The Commission recognises that Germany is more supportive of postal liberalisation than, for instance, Britain and France.”
Copyright: The Financial Times Limited
