The Uruguayan capital, Montevideo, hosted the 20th (extraordinary) Congress of the Postal Union of the Americas, Spain and Portugal (UPAEP), on occasion of the annual session of the Advisory and Executive Council (which met on 12, 13 and 15 June 2007); 25 of its 27 members attended, along with various observers. Portugal was represented at two levels, by ANACOM and by the CTT-Correios de Portugal (Portuguese postal service).
Standing out among the various adopted measures are the following:
- The Commission to Verify Powers, chaired by Portugal, presented the report from the meeting it held last 13 June, indicating that all declarations of powers deposited in the Union's General Secretariat complied with the provisions of Article 105 of the UPAEP General Regulation on the powers of delegates, and were deemed valid;
- The Congress approved a set of 53 proposals, previously discussed and approved by the Advisory and Executive Council. Note that most of those proposals derived from work carried out by the UPAEP Future working group (WG), set up by the Rio de Janeiro Congress in 2005 to draw up proposals to reform the Union, with the aim of making it a stronger and more efficient organisation, able to respond to future challenges and to rework its Acts, thus ensuring that it is an updated and coherent regulated body;
- Portugal, as amember of the UPAEP Future WG, analysed the topic of ''Decision-Making Structure and Process'' and drafted a set of 27 proposals concerning the Constitution and General Regulations, as well as proposals of a General Order. These proposals were at the basis of the exhaustive harmonisation work carried out by the group members, work culminating in the set of 42 formal proposals submitted by the working group to the Congress; 31 of those proposals counted the initiative and/or intervention of Portugal - via improvement suggestions;
- The Congress also approved the proposals put forward by the Technical Co-operation WG, specifically with respect to the Regulations and the Technical Co-operation Manual. It became necessary to amend the Constitution and the General Regulations to include in the Acts of the Union those two vital tools for developing co-operation in the UPAEP region. Portugal played an active role in the development of those two instruments, as well as the presented proposals;
- The Congress also approved a set of recommendations submitted by the Union Finances WG, which aim to clarify and make more transparent the financial and accounting information provided to the Union's member countries and territories, and to facilitate decision-making in this context;
- The mandate of the UPAEP Future WG was also considered expired. The working group on UPAEP Future Development (former working subgroup on UPAEP Future Development), chaired by Portugal, was charged with continuing the work of the disbanded group. The results of that work should be presented at the Union's next ordinary Congress in 2009;
- The mandate of the Technical Co-operation WG was renewed and the holding of a technical co-operation colloquium scheduled, similar to the first one held in 2006 during the annual session of the Advisory and Executive Council;
- The mandate of the Union Finances WG was also considered expired.
The next UPAEP ordinary Congress will be held in August 2009 in Santiago, Chile.
