POSTAL SERVICES : EP COMMITTEE CONFIRMS LIBERALISATION DEAL.

The European Parliament's Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) has adopted, by 37 votes in favour, two against and six abstentions, its recommendation for the second reading of the Postal Services Directive. This leaves untouched the common position reached with the Council that effectively follows Parliament's July plenary vote for the opening of postal markets by 31 December 2010, two years later than in the European Commission's proposal (1 January 2009). Ahead of the vote in committee, on 18 December, postal services rapporteur Markus Ferber (EPP-ED, Germany) had urged MEPs not to reopen negotiations with member states by adopting any of the numerous amendments.

Parliament is now set to vote on the postal services package at its Brussels session in January 2008. MEPs are most likely to follow the July plenary, which backed the compromise reached by Ferber with the Council by 512 votes in favour, 156 against and 18 abstentions. Ferber noted that the Council common position incorporated all the major elements of the Parliament's. Modifications made by the Council affected the directive's structure, but not the substance of those major amendments introduced by Parliament. The common position explicitly named those countries (with a "difficult topography" or member states having joined the EU in or after 2004) that may postpone full market opening until 31 December 2012. These countries are now to be listed in the annex to the directive as the Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

The rejection of all...