Correos: this contract is a historic event
The Spanish government is giving the national postal operator, Correos, a broader public-service role to deliver essential services until 2030.
The Spanish Council of Ministers has approved a management contract regulating the conditions under which state-owned postal operator Correos will provide Services of General Economic Interest, marking a significant step in the company’s transformation beyond traditional postal operations.
The agreement develops the amendment to Postal Law 43/2010 approved by Congress in July 2025, which recognises Correos, due to its extensive territorial implementation and the personal and material resources at its disposal, as an ideal instrument of the General State Administration to provide Services of General Economic Interest. These are services of public interest that are not provided by the market without state intervention.
The multi-annual management contract, which will remain in force until 2030, establishes the conditions for the provision of four main areas of service assigned to Correos by law:
- Accessibility to postal communications through its network of offices and service points in rural areas.
- Accessibility to basic financial services, including access to cash in municipalities with fewer than 500 inhabitants.
- Universal access to administrative services of the General State Administration.
- Provision of personal and material resources to the State when required in security or emergency situations.
Correos already provides some of these services, including the acceptance of administrative applications and their subsequent transmission to the relevant authorities, as well as the withdrawal and deposit of cash through its Correos Cash service. The company has also played an active role in helping citizens during emergency situations such as the DANA floods and storms in Andalusia and Extremadura.
The postal operator is currently providing information, assistance and material management services in procedures established for the regularisation of immigrants.
Under the new agreement, Correos will strengthen its role as a one-stop shop for the General State Administration, offering a broad range of services, from the acceptance of administrative applications and registration with competent authorities to the payment of fees and taxes, payment of subsidies, management of public debt and other citizen services.
The company said it will soon offer the possibility of acquiring public debt and obtaining digital identity certificates through its network of offices.
With the provision of these services, Correos said it will contribute to territorial, economic and social cohesion, sustainability and public welfare while reinforcing its public service mission as set out in its 2024–2028 Strategic Plan.
Pedro Saura, president of Correos, described the agreement as “a historic event in the more than 300 years of our company.”
“The government once again points out the strategic nature of the Correos network for Spain. This diversification will only partly help to offset the fall in postal sector revenues,” Saura said.
He added that the company’s network, due to its capillarity, proximity and commitment to technological innovation, is consolidated as an ally of the Administration to guarantee universal access to services under equal conditions and improve attention to citizens.
“All this will make it possible to deploy services with high added value for society, beyond the delivery of letters, fully activating the potential of a network that, due to its territorial presence, constitutes a strategic asset for the General State Administration,” he said.
