EU agrees stance on draft regulation for cross-border parcel delivery services
The European Council has announced that it has agreed its position on the draft regulation for cross border parcel delivery services in the European Union. In a statement issued on Friday (9 June), the Council said the intention is to make the services “more transparent and better monitored”.
The Council added: “Increased price transparency and more effective oversight should make the market more efficient and help bring down those tariffs which are not fully justified by objective factors such as wages or geographical distance.”
As part of the Council’s general approach, the Commission will set up a website to display the cross-border delivery rates offered by delivery firms.
According to the Council: “This dedicated website will make it easier for consumers and companies to compare rates and choose the best ones. Small delivery companies will be excluded from the obligation to provide their rates as that would create an excessive administrative burden for both the companies and the national administrations collecting the information.
“More transparent and, ultimately, cheaper pricing is expected to bolster cross-border online purchases in the EU. While 44% of consumers buy online in their own country, only 15% order online from another member state, citing high delivery charges as one of the main reasons for avoiding cross-border purchases. Cheaper and more transparent pricing could also encourage more retailers to sell online.”
The draft regulations have received a mixed reception from the industry. Speaking at the World Mail & Express Europe conference in Paris last week, Botond Szebeny, Secretary General of PostEurop, said that transparency of prices is acceptable, but there is “no justification for terminal rates”, as this involves highly sensitive business data; and PostEurope also believes that there is “no justification for a sector-specific regulation of third party access”.
Click here to view a PDF document regarding the proposed regulation.
