91999E2869

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2869/99

by Frédérique Ries (ELDR) to the Commission

(18 January 2000)

Subject: Cost of sending letters from and within Belgium

A few months ago, a person wishing to send a standard-format letter from Belgium to France paid 17 francs, the same as for a letter within Belgium.

Now, however, the cost of sending a standard-format letter from Belgium to France has increased to 19 francs for a second-class letter and to 21 francs for a first-class letter. The cost of sending a letter within Belgium is still 17 francs.

Does not the Commission feel that a competition issue is involved here, since it is more expensive to send a letter within the Union than within a Member State?

Answer by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(25 February 2000)

Since 1 January 1999 the Belgian post office has in fact had different rates for domestic mail and for mail going to other Member States.

The postal services directive(1) requires prices to be geared to costs. This principle can thus prompt a postal authority to alter its rates in line with costs, especially when these differ between purely domestic handling and cross-border mail. When approached, the Belgian post office offered this reason to justify the rate alterations, especially in the light of its recent investments to improve the quality of cross-border mail services.

This transparency is intended to avoid subsidies, but it also reflects a definite feature of the single market. In ten or so Member States postal rates differ depending on whether the mail is to be delivered domestically or elsewhere in the Community.

The differing rates for domestic and intra-Community mail may be based on different types of service. If these are justified, they would not infringe Community rules on competition. Compliance with the cost accounting principles laid down in the postal services directive will allow such justifications to be examined, if need be.

(1) Directive 97/67/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 1997 on common rules for the development of the internal market of Community postal services and the improvement of quality of service, OJ L 15, 21.1.1998, p. 12.