Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-03-11-Speech-1-102"
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"en.20020311.7.1-102"2
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". – Mr President, this subject has been debated in many places over many years and is of great importance, and I therefore welcome the fact that many speakers have given their opinion on it.
In conclusion, I should like again sincerely to thank this Parliament for its attitude on this report. The expected result, thanks to the contribution of all who have been involved in its preparation, is good for the postal market as a whole and will, I trust, give a lift to the Barcelona Summit which is to take place in a few days time when it reviews progress on our ambition to become the most competitive and dynamic economy in the world by the year 2010. This report demonstrates in a clear and practical way that European institutions can transform their commitments into action.
I am fully aware that I do not need to re-emphasise the importance of postal services for the European economy and its citizens. I would like, however, to reaffirm the need to make progress with the social reform that has been initiated and to move forward towards the accomplishment of the internal market for postal services. In this context, I am happy that the in-depth debates held in the European Parliament and the Council are about to bring appropriate solutions to the key challenges which have been widely discussed. I am grateful to the institutions of the European Union for together planning a road map for supporting the ongoing modernisation of the postal sector whilst maintaining the asset of the universal postal service. May I, in particular, praise the rapporteur, Mr Ferber, and also the shadow rapporteur, Mr Simpson, whom I thank in particular for the kind words which he addressed to me. I should like to thank both the rapporteur and the shadow rapporteur for their support and their constructive attitudes which have greatly contributed to making all this possible. Steering such a difficult dossier was a challenge which they have successfully met thanks to the support of their colleagues.
The common position reached in Council sets out a clear path for a gradual and controlled implementation of the internal market for postal services. It provides for sufficient time for all the market players to be prepared, and for guaranteeing that the universal service is maintained. The Belgian Presidency – Mr Sterckx referred to the presidency of the country of which he is a citizen- the Belgian presidency has found a good compromise which successfully meets a triple challenge: firstly, to reconcile divided Member States around a common approach; secondly, to largely reflect the European Parliament's position from the first reading – Mr Simpson enumerated the five points of which he said four-and-a-half were achieved by Parliament; and thirdly to gain wide endorsement from the industry stakeholders, including unanimous support from the 15 incumbent postal operators.
If I may say so, Mr President, the European Parliament can indeed be proud of its significant impact on the common position. Let me mention four points. Firstly, the definition of special services was deleted, as mentioned by Mr Simpson. Secondly, the timetable and weight limits were significantly modified to meet the demand for a more gradual and controlled approach. Thirdly, derogations will be possible concerning liberalisation of outgoing cross-border correspondence to the extent necessary to ensure the provision of the universal service.
Fourthly, the European Parliament will be involved before any subsequent decisive step, confirming, if appropriate, the full accomplishment of the internal market in the year 2009, or determining any other step in the light of the results of a dedicated study. It would therefore seem that Parliament has significantly influenced the common position, and congratulations on that accomplishment are due.
Furthermore, the rapporteur and the shadow rapporteur have managed to maintain this widely supported compromise. They have succeeded in strengthening the common position by updating its monitoring and controlling provisions in order to ensure that the stakeholders will be kept properly informed and fully involved during the process. The Commission supports the demand from a majority of Members of this Parliament for regular reports on the application of this directive. I certainly appreciate their wish to be kept informed of developments. A similar process has proved to be successful in other sectors, such as telecoms and transport, as Mr Sterckx pointed out. This demand from Parliament is not only legitimate but also beneficial, since it ensures that the next codecision procedure can be as successful as this one in gathering wide support among the stakeholders for such an important Community policy.
The Commission also appreciates Parliament's improvements to the accuracy of the common position drafting. In this spirit the Commission can accept, and I can personally support, all the compromise amendments worked out during this second reading to further strengthen the common position. This concerns Amendments Nos 1, 2 and 3.
On the other hand – and in the same spirit – it will be no surprise that the Commission is not able to support other amendments which diverge from the largely supported approach of the common position. This concerns the remaining proposed amendments to that common position.
Finally, with regard to the proposed legislative resolution "asking the Commission to involve all the relevant actors in the sector as well as the European Parliament and Council as closely as possible in the preparation, implementation and follow-up of the prospective study", I have already covered that point. I should like to state again my best intention to meet this wish of the European Parliament when the time comes, using the most appropriate means and in full respect of the applicable agreements between the Commission and Parliament on follow-up procedures for European Parliament resolutions."@en1
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