Tag: La Poste

France's La Poste prepares for battle

Posted by | Oct 17, 2006 | |

A recent report to the French Senate on the state of La Poste made depressing reading.
In 1996, it said, the German and French post offices had been more or less on a par. Eight years later, the turnover of the German post office was double that of France’s; its profits were eight times bigger, and internal investment was three times as high.
On top of that, the quality of the German service was improving, with a next-day delivery rate of 90per cent, compared to 75per cent in France.
The difference, of course, was that Germany had privatised and reformed its postal service, while France’s venerable public institution, complete with 330,000 staff and 17,000 bureaux, had stayed stock still.

Last week La Poste’s management unveiled a 700m euro (GBP470m) investment plan -designed to equip the company for the future. The 100,000 postmen and women are to have pocket computers and GPS monitors; there will be 12,000 bicycles with pivoting seats as well as 400 electronic bikes; and staff will take on other jobs like reading gas meters.

The message is clear: once again a French state mammoth is being prepared for the Brussels steeplechase.

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EU to take next step in postal reform, national monopolies must cease by 2009

Posted by | Oct 17, 2006 | |

The European Commission will announce the next step in its liberalisation of Europe’s postal services tomorrow, with deliveries of letters under 50 grams open to competition by 2009, said Oliver Drewes, spokesman for EU internal markets commissioner Charlie McCreevy.

The commission will debate the proposals at its weekly meeting tomorrow before announcing plans to free up the market for letters in Europe, following on from its 2002 directive on parcels and letters over 50 grams.

Currently, historical operators may still hold national monopolies on letters weighing less than 50 grams in Europe.

According to a report in Belgian daily La Libre Belgique, which says it has seen the proposals, the UK, the Netherlands, Scandinavian countries and Germany have been the most successful in terms of ending the monopoly of traditional postal services providers and introducing competition.

The Belgian and French post offices are widely expected to be announced as the worst offenders in liberalising markets.

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France set for battle over postal liberalisation

Posted by | Oct 6, 2006 | |

France is heading for a showdown with Brussels over plans to open up postal services to competition from 2009, setting the scene for a fresh battle over the completion of the European Union’s single market.

Paris aims to water down the postal plans by proposing measures to compensate incumbent mail operators, including La Poste, the French state-owned post office, for loss of their monopoly.

But Deutsche Post, Germany’s privatised post office, is backing the European Commission’s plan to sweep away the last remnants of an era in which postal services are still dominated by state-owned monopolies. Europe’s postal market is worth more than Euros 90bn (Dollars 115bn, Pounds 60bn) a year and employs 5m people.

With the Commission due to unveil its proposals later this month, the looming battle is widely seen as the next test case for Europe’s ability to push through economic reforms and complete the union’s prized internal market for goods and services.

In France the debate risks becoming a political football. As the country heads into a packed political calendar, Paris wants to avoid any threats to its fiercely guarded postal system before presidential, parliamentary and local elections next year.

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EU tells France to withdraw unlimited guarantee from La Poste

Posted by | Oct 4, 2006 | |

The EU told France on Wednesday to end the unlimited guarantee it gives the country’s post office La Poste that allows it to borrow money on better terms than rivals.

The European Commission said La Poste’s special status as a publicly owned company meant it was exempt from ordinary bankruptcy and insolvency procedures and the state could ultimately be held liable for its debts.

“This situation is tantamount to a state guarantee that is unlimited in amount and in duration and covering all of the liabilities of La Poste,” it said.

“The fact that the guarantee is unlimited allows La Poste to obtain finance on more favorable terms, giving it an advantage over its competitors and thus distorting competition on a market which is in the process of being liberalized.”

EU regulators recommended that France withdraw the unlimited guarantee by the end of 2008 and gave Paris one month to respond.

The Commission said it was not calling into question La Poste’s position governed by public law or its public ownership.

Following a similar EU demand, France withdrew an unlimited guarantee in December 2003 that had been granted to Electricite de France SA.

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EU to open up postal market from 2009

Posted by | Sep 29, 2006 | |

Europe’s market for postal services will be thrown open to unfettered competition from 2009, according to proposals to be presented by the European Commission as early as next month.

Brussels is keen to sweep away the last remnants of an era in which postal services were dominated by state-owned monopolies, and complete the market’s transformation into a competitive service sector. The Commission also hopes that full postal liberalisation will lead to lower costs for consumers and businesses.

However, the plan could face severe resistance from trade unions worried about job losses, and member states such as France, which are traditionally keen to defend public services against private-sector competition.

The European Union postal services sector is estimated to be worth more than euro90bn (GBP61bn) a year, and employs some 5m people. The market has already seen deep changes in recent years, not least thanks to a landmark EU law from 1997 that allowed competition in an ever-growing number of postal services.

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