European Union Transportation Commissioner Loyola de Palacio said if the US and the UK manage to come to an agreement on a bilateral “open skies” pact, the deal will be overruled by a European court later this year.
“The agreement can be signed with a clear short life,” de Palacio told reporters here ahead of the US-EU summit between European President Romano Prodi and President George Bush at the White House.
Germany’s publicly controlled postal system, Deutsche Post, is facing by next month or June at the latest a new multimillion-euro fine by the European Union over its continuing subsidies to its money-losing package delivery service.
Mario Monti of the EU said Deutsche Post was continuing to violate EU competition policy by using revenues from its monopoly on most first-class letters to keep the package service afloat and undercut private-sector competitors.
International express carriers will shift a large portion of their business from air to road delivery once Poland joins the European Union (EU), lifting customs clearance for goods destined for EU member countries and sharply reducing waiting times at the Polish-German border, industry sources said.
“A significant volume of shipments within Europe will move from air to road,” said Miros³aw Gral, international manager of Messenger Service Stolica, a Warsaw-based courier that works with the global network of U.S.-based Airborne Express.
The European Union is demanding that foreign companies be allowed to compete with the U.S. Postal Service as part of World Trade Organization talks that began last year.
According to a draft copy of its demands obtained by The Washington Times, Europe also wants access to American markets for municipal water and waste services. It also will call for foreign companies to be given access to Small Business Administration loans.
European Union and United States government officials are negotiating with their mainland counterparts to resolve a simmering dispute after courier China Post declared a near-monopoly over the shipment of express documents.
The wrangle will come to a head on 30 April when express operators have to accept the new rules or face having their licences cancelled. Left unresolved, the row will cost big-name companies such as Federal Express (FedEx), DHL, TNT and United Parcel Service (UPS) billions of dollars in lost revenue.
The dispute flared in February after China Post told express cargo companies it was placing restrictions on consigments under 500 grams.
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