Deutsche Post World Net AG will cut the prices of its stamps by an average of 0.7 pct for letters and parcels of less than 1 kg, a company spokesman said. He said the company has already filed a formal request with Germany’s regulatory agency RegTP and if approved, the price cuts are effective from Jan 1, 2005.
Read MoreThe German government is considering asking Deutsche Post AG and Deutsche Telekom AG to transfer pension payments totalling billions of euros to the state in order to help plug the budget deficit, Financial Times Deutschland said, citing government sources.
It said by taking over the long-term pension payments meant for employees of the former state monopolies, the state would then receive in the short-term a cash injection of several billions of euros from the two companies.
The government would then not need to come up with an austerity programme and would be able to keep its 2005 budget deficit at 3 pct of GDP, it added.
Read MoreLycos Europe and Deutsche Post have signed a cooperation agreement concerning the Deutsche Post e-mail service, ePost. Deutsche Post will end this service and ePost customers, who transfer to Lycos before 28 February 2005, receive advantageous conditions. Lycos will automatically transfer the personal contacts data to the Lycos server and all e-mail messages will be forwarded to a Lycos e-mail address until December 2005.
Read MoreThe European Commission is likely to launch proceedings against Germany today aimed at forcing it to open its local postal system to more competition, the Financial Times Deutschland reported citing Commission sources. The reason for the action is the German government’s refusal to give competitors of Deutsche Post AG access to the so-called ‘post-preparation services market’, the paper said. The commercial collection, sorting and franking of letters under 100 grams
is currently exclusively guaranteed to Deutsche Post under postal laws.
The European Commission has ruled against certain provisions in Germany’s postal regulatory framework which bar commercial mail preparation firms from earning discounts for handing over pre-sorted letters at Deutsche Post AG’s (DPAG) sorting centres. The incriminated provisions induce DPAG to discriminate against mail preparation firms: whilst large senders are allowed to feed self-prepared mail directly into sorting centres and are granted discounts for doing so, commercial firms are barred from discounts for mail preparation. Commenting on the decision, Competition Commissioner Mario Monti said: “The German Postal Law induces Deutsche Post to abuse its dominant position thereby putting commercial operators at a considerable competitive disadvantage. The Commission’s action will establish a competitive level playing field for mail preparation firms. The experience in countries where a large part of companies’ mail is outsourced shows that the overall letter and direct mail volume has increased to the benefit of all operators.”
Read More
Post & Parcel Magazine is our print publication, released 3 times a year. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, Post & Parcel Magazine is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.
