2nd ERGP Stakeholder Forum discussed new strategies and challenges in postal services regulation

More than 200 key stakeholders met in Brussels on 18 September, for the 2nd ERGP Stakeholder Forum. The challenges that the postal sector is facing in Europe and worldwide were under discussion, as well as the response that postal regulators and the European Commission shall give to overcome them. Dialogue with international counterparts and authorities responsible for the regulation of the postal sector is also of paramount importance for ERGP. Participants listened to different perspectives and regulatory experiences from outside Europe, from the United States and China.

Mr Spyros Pantelis (incoming 2020 ERGP Chair and Vice President of EETT) presented the 2020 ERGP working programme. The ERGP Medium Term Strategy for 2020-2022 was also presented and discussed.

Jack Hamande, ERGP Outgoing Chair and Executive Board Member of BIPT, moderated the session “Postal Regulation? What postal regulation” which collected experiences about which postal regulation is needed, in view of the ERGP Opinion on the future regulatory review, recently published.

Mr. Timo Pesonen, Director-General DG GROW from the European Commission, highlighted, that the priorities of the European Commission for the future of the postal sector are in engagement with all the postal stakeholders on the implementation of the regulation on cross border parcel delivery service and on the review of the Postal Service Directive 97/67/EC.

In the Session “How is E-commerce shaping the postal market and regulation?”, it was clear that the emergence of new players in the e-commerce market offers new opportunities for consumers but also creates new regulatory challenges. The postal and e-commerce changed dramatically in the recent years. The postal market is part of the digital single market. The regulation of the postal, e-commerce and digital market should be made in a way that innovative solutions will continue to appear, that access is guaranteed, that new consumers needs are fulfilled.

From the discussion in the Forum on the session “International mail market: to regulate or not regulate?” we can conclude that postal issues are becoming more global and that national decisions are more interrelated with the decisions taken by other administrations. This discussion had as background the Extraordinary UPU Congress, the possible withdrawal from the United States and the proposals on the review of the UPU terminal dues system. Mr. Bishair Hussein, UPU DG, appealed to the European countries to come to the UPU Extraordinary Congress with a positive mind to solve all challenges.

Mr. João Cadete de Matos, ERGP Chair in 2019 and Chairman of ANACOM, stressed that ERGP is becoming an indispensable actor and interlocutor of the postal regulation in the European Union, capable of providing expert advice and opinions of the highest level. The ERGP Stakeholders Forum is becoming a reference Forum, being the meeting point for regulators, postal, digital, delivery and e-commerce sector representatives.

ERGP Office contact details: GROW-ERGP@ec.europa.eu