Directive 97/67/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 1997 on common rules for the development of the internal market of Community postal services and the improvement of quality of service

• Published date: 21 January 1998
• Official Gazette Publication: Diario Oficial de las Comunidades Europeas, L 15, 21 de enero de 1998,Gazzetta ufficiale delle Comunità europee, L 15, 21 gennaio 1998,Journal officiel des Communautés européennes, L 15, 21 janvier 1998

1997L0067 — EN — 27.02.2008 — 003.005

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This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents

►B DIRECTIVE 97/67/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 15 December 1997 on common rules for the development of the internal market of Community postal services and the improvement of quality of service (OJ L 015 21.1.1998, p. 14)

Amended by:

		Official Journal
		No	page	date
M1	DIRECTIVE 2002/39/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 10 June 2002	L 176	21	5.7.2002
M2	REGULATION (EC) No 1882/2003 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 29 September 2003	L 284	1	31.10.2003
►M3	DIRECTIVE 2008/6/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 20 February 2008	L 52	3	27.2.2008

Corrected by:

►C1 Corrigendum, OJ L 225, 28.8.2015, p. 49 (2008/6/EC)

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▼B

DIRECTIVE 97/67/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 15 December 1997

on common rules for the development of the internal market of Community postal services and the improvement of quality of service

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Articles 57 (2), 66 and 100a thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ( 1 ),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee ( 2 ),

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions ( 3 ),

Having regard to the resolution of the European Parliament of 22 January 1993 concerning the green paper on the development of the single market for postal services ( 4 ),

Having regard to the Council resolution of 7 February 1994 on the development of Community postal services ( 5 ),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189b of the Treaty, in the light of the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee on 7 November 1997 ( 6 ),

(1) Whereas measures should be adopted with the aim of establishing the internal market in accordance with Article 7a of the Treaty; whereas this market comprises an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured;

(2) Whereas the establishment of the internal market in the postal sector is of proven importance for the economic and social cohesion of the Community, in that postal services are an essential instrument of communication and trade;

(3) Whereas on 11 June 1992 the Commission presented a Green Paper on the development of the single market for postal services and, on 2 June 1993, a Communication on the guidelines for the development of Community postal services;

(4) Whereas the Commission has conducted wide-ranging public consultation on those aspects of postal services that are of interest to the Community and the interested parties in the postal sector have communicated their observations to the Commission;

(5) Whereas the current extent of the universal postal service and the conditions governing its provision vary significantly from one Member State to another; whereas, in particular, performance in terms of quality of services is very unequal amongst Member States;

(6) Whereas cross-border postal links do not always meet the expectations of users and European citizens, and performance, in terms of quality of service with regard to Community cross-border postal services, is at the moment unsatisfactory;

(7) Whereas the disparities observed in the postal sector have considerable implications for those sectors of activity which rely especially on postal services and effectively impede the progress towards internal Community cohesion, in that the regions deprived of postal services of sufficiently high quality find themselves at a disadvantage as regards both their letter service and the distribution of goods;

(8) Whereas measures seeking to ensure the gradual and controlled liberalisation of the market and to secure a proper balance in the application thereof are necessary in order to guarantee, throughout the Community, and subject to the obligations and rights of the universal service providers, the free provision of services in the postal sector itself;

(9) Whereas action at Community level to ensure greater harmonisation of the conditions governing the postal sector is therefore necessary and steps must consequently be taken to establish common rules;

(10) Whereas, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, a set of general principles should be adopted at Community level, whilst the choice of the exact procedures should be a matter for the Member States, which should be free to choose the system best adapted to their own circumstances;

(11) Whereas it is essential to guarantee at Community level a universal postal service encompassing a minimum range of services of specified quality to be provided in all Member States at an affordable price for the benefit of all users, irrespective of their geographical location in the Community;

(12) Whereas the aim of the universal services is to offer all users easy access to the postal network through the provision, in particular, of a sufficient number of access points and by ensuring satisfactory conditions with regard to the frequency of collections and deliveries; whereas the provision of the universal service must meet the fundamental need to ensure continuity of operation, whilst at the same time remaining adaptable to the needs of users as well as guaranteeing them fair and non-discriminatory treatment;

(13) Whereas universal service must cover national services as well as cross-border services;

(14) Whereas users of the universal service must be given adequate information on the range of services offered, the conditions governing their supply and use, the quality of the services provided, and the tariffs;

(15) Whereas the provisions of this Directive relating to universal service provision are without prejudice to the right of universal service operators to negotiate contracts with customers individually;

(16) Whereas the maintenance of a range of those services that may be reserved, in compliance with the rules of the Treaty and without prejudice to the application of the rules on competition, appears justified on the grounds of ensuring the operation of the universal service under financially balanced conditions; whereas the process of liberalisation should not curtail the continuing supply of certain free services for blind and partially sighted persons introduced by the Member States;

(17) Whereas items of correspondence weighing 350 grammes and over represent less than 2 % of letter volume and less than 3 % of the receipts of the public operators; whereas the criteria of price (five times the basic tariff) will better permit the distinction between the reserved service and the express service, which is liberalised;

(18) Whereas, in view of the fact that the essential difference between express mail and universal postal services lies in the value added (whatever form it takes) provided by express services and perceived by customers, the most effective way of determining the extra value perceived is to consider the extra price that customers are prepared to pay, without prejudice, however, to the price limit of the reserved area which must be respected;

(19) Whereas it is reasonable to allow, on an interim basis, for direct mail and cross-border mail to continue to be capable of reservation within the price and weight limits provided; whereas, as a further step towards the completion of the internal market of postal services, a decision on the further gradual controlled liberalisation of the postal market, in particular with a view to the liberalisation of cross-border and direct mail as well as on a further review of the price and weight limits, should be taken by the European Parliament and the Council not later than 1 January 2000, on a proposal from the Commission following a review of the sector;

(20) Whereas, for reasons of public order and public security, Member States may have a legitimate interest in conferring on one or more entities designated by them the right to site on the public highway letter-boxes intended for the reception of postal items; whereas, for the same reasons, they are entitled to appoint the entity or entities responsible for issuing postage stamps identifying the country of origin and those responsible for providing the registered mail service used in the course of judicial or administrative procedures in accordance with their national legislation; whereas they may also indicate membership of the European Union by integrating the 12-star symbol;

(21) Whereas new services (services quite distinct from conventional services) and document exchange do not form part of the universal service and consequently there is no justification for their being reserved to the universal service providers; whereas this applies equally to self-provision (provision of postal services by the natural or legal person who is the originator of the mail, or collection and routing of these items by a third party acting solely on behalf of that person), which does not fall within the category of services;

(22) Whereas Member States should be able to regulate, by appropriate authorization procedures, on their territory, the provision of postal services which are not reserved to the universal service providers; whereas those procedures must be transparent, non-discriminatory, proportionate and

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