Royal Mail, TNT, Deutsche Post, Posten, Finnish Post back EU postal reforms

The chief executives of Deutsche Post AG, Sweden’s Posten AB, Finnish post office Suomen Posti Oyj, TNT NV and the UK’s Royal Mail have said that they believe postal market liberalisation is already working in their countries and that they are ‘ready for full market opening in 2009’.

The chief executives of the five groups, which distribute some 60 pct of postal mail volume in Europe, will attend a dinner in Brussels tonight where EU internal markets commissioner Charlie McCreevy is expected to speak about the commission’s plan to liberalise postal markets.

Klaus Zumwinkel, chief executive of the Deutsche Post, said ‘Liberalisation that allows healthy competition is the only way forward. We are ready to embrace it’.

The European Commission will announce the next step in its liberalisation of Europe’s postal services tomorrow, with deliveries of letters under 50 grams open to competition by 2009, said EU spokesman Oliver Drewes earlier today.

The commission will debate the proposals before announcing plans to free up the market for letters in Europe, following on from its 2002 directive on parcels and letters over 50 grams.

Currently, historical operators may still hold national monopolies on letters weighing less than 50 grams in Europe.