New Estonian Law to allow competition to Eesti Post
The Estonian Ministry of Economy and Communications has drafted a bill that would change the requirements for the provider of universal postal service and allow competition for Eesti Post (Estonian Post).
“The most important of the requirements for the provider of universal postal service is the obligation to provide postal service to everybody on equal terms in the entire territory of Estonia. The other important obligation is to apply a uniform service fee in domestic postal service throughout Estonia,” the ministry said.
Unlike the currently valid law, the bill would create the possibility for providers to render separately, with a respective license, all the different services that are part of the universal postal service.
“Hopefully this will result in competition emerging for Eesti Post, which in turn will increase the quality of service and lower the price,” said Alice Vood, adviser to the communications department at the ministry.
Universal postal service means the set of the main postal services, such as the forwarding of domestic letters weighing up to two kilograms and of postal parcels weighing up to 20 kilograms, as well as periodicals.
As an important novelty in the new law that has been sent on a coordination round between different Estonian ministries, courier mail and direct mail have been removed from the area governed by the law.
Citing the valid law, the Communications Board a year ago refused to register forwarding of letters weighing up to two kilogarms in selected Estonian cities and rural areas as a non-universal service as an area of activity of AS Express Post, a private company.
Eesti Post is the only company to which Estonia has issued a license for universal postal service by now.
Copyright © 2003 Baltic News Service
