Postal Services Directive 1997

The Postal Services Directive 1997 (97/67/EC) is an EU Directive for the regulation of postal services in the European Union.

Contents

Article 3, requires a ‘universal service’ of the post to be provided. This means at least five day a week delivery to all natural and legal persons, with a few exceptions.

Article 5 requires no discrimination between consumers and evolving and innovating.

Article 7 says that ‘Member States shall not grant or maintain in force exclusive or special rights for the establishment and provision of postal services.’ A universal service can be funded publicly, by procurement through standard EU procedure, by taxpayer subsidies, a tax on other postal companies, or users, administered by an independent authority (known as a ‘compensation fund').

Article 9 sets out standards for licensing for the postal industry.

Article 12 lays down goals for ensuring prices are ‘affordable,’ while being ‘geared to costs’ except for the fact that member states can have a ‘uniform tariff’.

Article 14 requires transparency and separation of accounts.

Article 21 establishes a committee to assist the commission on postal service matters.

See also

• EU law
• UK enterprise law

References

• E McGaughey, Principles of Enterprise Law: the Economic Constitution and Human Rights (Cambridge UP 2022) ch 15