Return to sender; Europe's postal services.

Economist (US), The, January, 2007

Protectionism hampers the reform of Europe's postal services

THE romantic image of the trusty postman, delivering letters to the farthest-flung corners of the land, makes the reform of postal services a sensitive subject. This is especially true when the impetus for reform comes from the European Union. This month the European Parliament starts work on a directive, drawn up by the European Commission, to remove the last monopolies in postal markets by 2009--the final stage in a slow and laborious liberalisation that began in 1992. Directives in 1997 and 2002 chipped away at the centuries-old monopolies enjoyed by national operators, and the proposed new law will open the whole market to competition by abolishing the "reserved area" on mail weighing less than 50...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Premium Content Partnership | HighBeam Research provides an in-depth online archive library of reference works.