Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-12-13-Speech-3-014"
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"en.20001213.1.3-014"2
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"Madam President, the opinion of the committee of which I have the honour to be draftsman, which was approved by a very large majority, introduces limitations to the rapid liberalisation of the postal services, opting for a gradual and controlled opening to competition without market distortions which would be detrimental to the services’ customers and users and to the national universal service companies. Thus, we propose that the opening should take into account Article 16 of the Treaty, which raises the provision of traditional postal services to the category of services of general interest, given the place they occupy in the shared values of the Union and their role in promoting social and territorial cohesion, for which reason they should operate on the basis of principles and conditions that enable them to fulfil their missions.
Naturally, we point out weaknesses in the draft directive, requiring that the economic and social impact of liberalisation be made known and an assessment be made of the economic effectiveness and service quality provided by the companies so that Parliament can decide with certainty and clarity.
Without jeopardising the modernisation of all postal services and the opening to competition, Member States must continue to preserve their rural network of counter services, which help bring the remote places closer to centres of decision making and are thus indispensable to the social cohesion of the smallest urban or rural communities. The Committee on Legal Affairs has been even more demanding as regards price limits on services reserved for the universal provider, but it proposes the same 150-gramme weight limit and jointly rejects the 50 grammes laid down in the draft directive. The difference from the basic report is a simple matter of detail included within the framework of a parliamentary discussion, which, incidentally, has been extremely well conducted by the rapporteur, Mr Ferber. It is also guaranteed that cross-border mail will remain a service reserved for the postal services, and also, if VAT comes to be levied on postal services, that the tax should be levied at a reduced rate so as not to raise the price of stamps in the Community. My committee has clearly rejected the idea of special services, which, as I understand it, were aimed at draining the universal service of any profitable activities, leaving it only with services where costs outweighed prices, and it also made subject to liberalisation the so-called new services, defined as “all those that the universal service provider does not undertake or is not naturally obliged to produce”.
Madam President, there would be much more to say, but I shall confine myself to adding that only rarely has there been such political consensus on an issue among the various committees called upon to express their opinions in this Parliament. Postal services, like schools, roads, and bridges, are part of the European cultural landscape and our shared concept of civilisation. This Parliament is naturally on the side of these values and will continue to support them."@en1
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