PRESS RELEASE
Brussels , 4 July 2006
BUSINESS MAILERS MANIFESTO FOR EUROPE’S POSTAL SECTOR
FOREWORD FROM MEP MARKUS FERBER
The Postal Users´ Group has issued a manifesto on the main interests of business users of postal services to
encourage the European Commission to take the postal users´ needs into account when it is preparing its next
proposals on postal services this year.
PUG, an alliance of the major postal users representing 15 trade associations and businesses, points out in its
manifesto that the postal services cover a very wide range of businesses and systems. The letter mail
business of Europe´s postal operators represent about 1 million jobs and revenues of 47 billion euro;
however, PUG shows that the wider sector accounts for an additional 4 million jobs and over 150 billion
euro of revenues.
The European Commission´s proposals will impact on a few wider range of businesses and services than just
letter mail. Business mailers, which PUG represents, generate about 90% of postal volumes-including
parcels, packages, express mail and courier, as well as letter mail. Getting the future vision right is essential
for this vast sector. The manifesto identifies the principles which should guide the postal sector and help it
re-invent itself in the fast moving environment of changing customer needs, new technologies, the
shareholders´ pressures, etc.
In the foreword to the manifesto, the European Parliament´s “Rapporteur” on Postal Services and senior
member of the Transport Committee, Mr Markus Ferber MEP, said “This study…demonstrates the extent to
which the market is changing. Given the nature of these changes and their effects on industry and consumers
alike, it is important to examine and evaluate in detail what these developments can entail for businesses and
society”.
In particular, the report demands more effective regulation for the sector. Vice Chairman of PUG and the
Manifesto’s author, Dr Tim Walsh, said “effective regulation is very important where posts retain a dominant
position. The purpose of ex ante regulation is to set the rules ahead of time rather than reacting to problems
after they have occurred. This is in the interests of posts and other market actors.”
Dr Walsh added “Regulatory processes which are not effective are more politicised, less rule -bound and a lot
less predictable. Where the motives of regulation become obscured the consequences for posts and the wider
industry are harmful.”
For further information, please contact Mr Alastair Tempest, +32 2 779 42 68 and Dr Tim Walsh +44 7743
840 396
Notes To Editors
The Postal Users Group (PUG), an ad hoc alliance of Europe’s major users of postal services, published a
Mail Manifesto for reform in the postal sector.
Report author, Dr Tim Walsh, is vice-Chairman of the Postal Users’ Group.
Further copies of The Mail Manifesto - growth, partnership and innovation in a changing industry, can be
obtained from PUG Secretariat, Avenue de Tervueren 439, 1150 Brussels, Belgium.
APPENDIX
The Executive Summary of the Mail Manifesto (full copies of the Mail Manifesto are available upon
request from the Secretariat)
A broad and significant sector
Efficient and effective postal services are essential for the future health and dynamism of the European
economy. However, while posts may be at the heart of the sector, they do not in themselves constitute the
industry as a whole. This report demonstrates that while there are one million people employed by the letter
mail businesses of Europe’s post offices there are a further four million jobs dependent on a vibrant,
innovative and growing mailing services sector. Equally, whereas the letter businesses of Europe’s posts
represent a combined turnover of EUR47 billion, the sector as a whole contributes EUR 203 billion of
revenues to the European economy.
By describing the activities within each segment of the broader mail industry the report demonstrates that
interest in the future of EU postal policy is not limited to the 25 national postal operators across the EU.
There are many major European companies, both as providers of services and suppliers to the sector, whose
business future and employment depend upon and contribute toward efficient and effective postal
infrastructure services. Business mailers, too, rely on responsive postal services to manage and bill
customers; send and receive payments; and fulfil orders. Only if postal networks continue to be relevant to
business users will there be a volume of traffic to support services for individual users.
A framework for policy
By taking a broader view of what constitutes the postal industry the report aims to rebalance the EU postal
services debate in three areas. First, that the sector is a significant player in economic terms (much larger
than the jobs and revenues associated directly with universal service providers) and that only modernization
can protect jobs across the sector and realise the industry’s full potential for growth and innovation.
Second, the report hopes to rebalance discussions about the EU mail market in favour of business mailers
who collectively generate up to 90 per cent of posted volumes and 95 per cent of postal revenues. Postal
tariffs represent a significant input cost for many EU businesses, particularly in the financial services, media,
government, charity and retail sectors.
And third, the manifesto highlights the critical role and needs of upstream businesses in the
European mailing sector, including data, publishing and direct mail services companies and technology
providers. The upstream segments of the mailing sector are technologically advanced, innovative and vital to
the future health of Europe’s posts.
The question for regulators is not how to regulate these segments but rather to ensure that the way in which
the posts are regulated (where dominant) support growth and innovation in the upstream sector and
partnership between the two. Understanding the industry in this wider perspective creates a broader frame of
reference in considering the development of postal policy for the sector. In particular, we believe that the EC
should reflect on the following issues and questions:
• what policies are best to stimulate and support growth of mail volumes?
• how do we structure a sector to maximize customer choice; fair pricing and good service; facilitate
innovation and add value to the mail stream?
• what ideas are likely to develop partnership between industry actors, with a view to driving technological
advancement; network, product and process innovation; and interoperability?
• what conditions are most conducive to the maintenance of an essential European infrastructure service
(commonly referred to as the USO), and how can we ensure that the services provided on that infrastructure
remain relevant to the needs of businesses and individuals within the member states of the EU?
• how should the regulator rules be re-balanced to support greater flexibility for the posts, on the one hand,
and a ‘level playing field’ and cost transparency, on the other?
The nature and drivers of change
The report describes the dynamism and interdependencies across the sector and the future potential for
growth and innovation. It argues that the risk to future employment is not from too much change but from
too little. Mailers understand the social, rural and employment concerns that revolve around the sector, and
support accompanying measures that might mitigate these risks without jeopardising the on-going
modernisation of the sector.
The report is supportive of Europe’s universal service providers (USPs) and praises their efforts to improve
quality of service over recent years. Europe’s posts employ good people, have strong brands, ubiquitous
networks and play an important economic and social role in the life of Europe. But the world is
changing and more needs to be done to ensure that innovation, service improvement, choice, efficiency and
growth can continue into the future, where alternative communication channels are competing more and
more strongly against the mail.
The report emphasises that much of the change within the posts and in the wider sector over the last decade
and more has been driven by structural changes: new customer needs, shareholder (mainly government)
demands and technological requirements. EU liberalisation is only one of the forces driving change in the
sector, and it is more helpful to view EU policy as supportive of change already underway, rather than the
harbinger of change itself.
Better, balanced regulation
In particular, effective independent regulation is pivotal where USPs retain a dominant market position.
Regulation should not be excessive, but should aim to ensure the fulfilment of a more appropriately defined
USO, to approve tariffs of regulated services and act in an ex-ante, rather than an ex-post, manner with a
view to ensuring a level playing field between market operators.
The purpose of ex-ante regulation is to set rules ahead of time rather than reacting to problems after
they have occurred. This is in the interests not just of the USPs but of mailers and other actors within the
wider EU mail services market. A failure to ensure effective, independent and balanced regulation can stunt
investment and job creation in the sector as a whole. This signatories to the report are strongly of the view
that regulatory processes which are not transparent are more politicised, less rule -bound and a lot less
predictable. Where the motives of regulation become obscured the consequences for posts and the wider
industry are deleterious.
It is clear that USPs need greater flexibility in respect of universal service obligations and pricing, and a
good deal less ad hoc interference in operational decisions. For example, the report highlights the sensitive
issue of future funding of non-commercial postal counter services, and calls for the financing of retail
networks deemed necessary for political reasons to be met by the state, and not by the posts themselves via
their letter mail customers.
Vision: partnership, growth and innovation
On this basis the report concludes with a vision for the future of the EU mailing services sector. It is a vision
of a dynamic, growing and innovative sector based on the principle of partnership between the posts and all
other actors within the industry.
Thus, while mail volumes have been broadly static since 2000, and the cross-border mail has stagnated at
three to five per cent of total volumes since 1992, there is considerable dynamism in parts of the market and
there are opportunities for mail volume growth if the right price, service and facilitating regulatory
environments are in place. The challenge, therefore, for policy makers, is to craft future proposals with the
needs of the broader sector in view, and not just the needs of the universal service providers.
The signatories to this report do not doubt that there are tricky political interests to be reconciled in the future
development of EU postal policy. We would emphasise, however, that when viewed in a broader perspective
the risks to sectoral employment comes from changing customer needs, technological developments and
shareholder pressure for enhanced financial returns.
Unity and collaboration
As a new postal directive finally settles the 15-year long debate on the future of the EU postal sector the
manifesto suggests that it might soon be time to begin the process of unifying the industry with a focus on
what we have in common, rather than what might have divided us historically. There are many issues crying
out for a united and more collaborative effort by actors from across the mail services value chain -
particularly as the industry enters into a multi-carrier environment.
There is much joint activity that coalitions from across the mails’ industry value chain can work on together.
There are emerging policy issues such as those relating to data protection and privacy legislation which can
restrict the dynamism in the data services segment of the industry, and thereby damage prospects for
continued direct mail growth with the USPs and other carriers. There is the need for a more determined
industry effort in respect of establishing standards, particularly in relation to mailer-carrier; carrier-third
party; carrier-carrier and carrier-recipient interfaces. There is also the regulatory agenda relating to mails
integrity and interoperability, which again is in everybody’s interest to develop in a way which maintains and
builds trusts in the mail as a medium.
Conclusion
The manifesto concludes on an optimistic note. There is a strong future for mail if the policies, practices and
behaviours of all actors in the sector unite behind a focus on growth and innovation, based on partnerships,
where this makes sense. The report believes that the posts will remain dominant actors within the EU mailing
sector for the foreseeable future, and it recognises that USPs are responding ahead of formal market opening
by reducing costs and improving customer focus in a range of ways.
It is clear, too, that USPs will continue to be major employers, despite competition from new entrant private
posts. However, there does need to be a continuation of the modernisation of the sector, better integration
and collaboration across the industry’s value chain and a clearer focus on the promotion of the sector’s
interests, not least in the face of changing customer needs.
ENDS
Signatories
The undersigned associations are pleased to recommend this report for consideration by European postal
policy makers and to other actors within the European mailing industry. The report constitutes a contribution
to the debate on the future of European postal policy and is based on the principles of growth, innovation and
partnership.
CEPI Confederation of European Paper Industries
EACA European Association of Communications Agencies
EADP European Association of Directory & Database Publishers
EMC European Marketing Confederation
EMOTA European Mail Order and Distance Selling Trade Association
ENPA European Newspaper Publishers’ Association
EPC European Publishers' Council
FAEP European Federation of Magazine Publishers
FEDMA Federation of European Direct and Interactive Marketing
FEPE European Envelope Manufacturers’ Association
FEP-FEE Federation of European Publishers
FFPI Free and Fair Post Initiative
ICC International Chamber of Commerce
PUG Postal Users’ Group
Postwatch
