The European Commission (EC) held on 5 December a workshop in Brussels to launch two studies on the postal sector.
One of the studies, on the ?Impact on Universal Service of Full Accomplishment of the Postal Internal Market in 2009? will be conducted by the PriceWaterhouseCoopers consultancy, with WIK-Consult responsible for the other, on ?Main Developments in the Postal Sector?.
The studies are being produced under the scope of articles 23 and 7 of Directive 97/67/EC (Postal Directive), as amended by Directive 2002/39/EC, and concern the following documents:
- report on Postal Directive application that the EC must submit every two years to the European Parliament and to the Council, including suitable information on sector performance, specifically regarding economic, social, employment and technological aspects, as well as quality of service;
- prospective study to be conducted by the EC which evaluates, for each member State, the impact on universal service of the full accomplishment of the internal market for postal services in 2009. Based on the conclusions of this study, the Commission must submit by 31 December 2006 a report to the European Parliament and to the Council, accompanied by a proposal confirming, if necessary, the 2009 date for full accomplishment of the internal postal market or determining another phase, in light of the study?s conclusions (section 3 of article 7).
