Milestones in postal regulation

2013

- 22 February 2013: On 12 February, ARCEP issued an opinion about two services for items covered by the universal postal service which La Poste planned to introduce from 1 March. It did not approve the terms of use for the "Mini-Max" service, approved the "Colissimo guichet" service for mainland France but did not approve it for the overseas territories. La Poste noted ARCEP'S opinion and will comply with it. / ARCEP's communication

- 7 February 2013: Following the public consultation conducted from 10 December 2012 to 14 January 2013, ARCEP published Decision No. 13-0128 designed to alter the tax-cost allocation rules relating to VAT exemption for certain La Poste services, as well as the transport-cost allocation indexes. The decision will apply from the production of the 2012 accounts. ARCEP also published a summary of the consultation and the three contributions received. / Decision No. 13-0128 / The public consultation / The summary of the consultation / The replies of La Poste, Althus and Courrier Plus

- 21 January 2013: Under the head of its mission to monitor the universal postal service, ARCEP published Decision No. 12-1454. Adopted following the public consultation held from 26 July to 17 September 2012, it details the information which La Poste, as the universal service provider, must supply to ARCEP so the latter can check universal service quality and compliance with the obligations pertaining thereto. This Decision supersedes Decisions Nos. 08-0180 of 19 February 2008 and 09-0367 of 7 May 2009. / Decision No. 12-1454 / Summary of the consultation / Replies to the consultation

2012

- 13 December 2012: ARCEP published a summary of the public consultation on the role of the postmark conducted from 23 July to 17 September 2012. This summary proposed introducing a provision in the Post and Electronic Communications Code to clarify the legal status of the postmark applied by postal service providers. / Summary of the public consultation (pdf - in French only)

- 10 December 2012: ARCEP launched a public consultation (deadline: 14 January 2013) on a draft decision concerning accounting rules and reporting on La Poste's statutory accounts. This decision is designed to alter tax-cost allocation rules relating to VAT exemption for certain La Poste services, as well as the transport-cost allocation indexes. It will apply from the production of the 2012 accounts. / ARCEP's communication

- 29 November 2012: On 29 November, the European Commission published a Green Paper on parcel delivery in the context of cross-border e-commerce, together with a public consultation to which stakeholders could respond until 15 February 2013. The consultation focuses on the following issues: assessment of the current regulatory framework; transparency, quality of service and consumer rights; the possibility of a universal parcel delivery service; costs, tariffs, and interoperability of the parcels delivery market within the European Union; sector governance. On the basis of this consultation, the Commission plans to identify, as appropriate, the measures to be taken to consolidate the single parcel-delivery-service market in spring 2013. / The Commission's press release / Presentation of the public consultation

- 23 November 2012: ARCEP approved the tariff increases proposed for international mail services as per 1 January 2013 (+1.8%). / Opinion No. 2012-1499 (pdf - in French only)

- 16 November 2012: ARCEP issued its opinion on the tariff increases proposed by La Poste for domestic mail services coming under the universal service. The increases planned for 1 January 2013 entailed an average increase of 2.6% in the price of the universal service and was thus compatible with the multi-year tariff framework set out in ARCEP Decision No. 12-1353 of 6 November 2012. ARCEP approved the implementation of these tariff increases but expressed a reservation about advices of receipt for registered letters which would be waived provided La Poste could furnish details of a specific programme for substantially improving quality of service with respect to these advices and the measurement of this quality. / Opinion No.12-1406 (pdf - in French only)

- 12 November 2012: On 6 November 2012, ARCEP adopted a decision setting out the characteristics of the universal postal service framework for 2013-2015. In the light of the assumptions chosen for the period (4.1 % annual decrease in traffic and 1.8% annual inflation), the average increase in the price of the universal service product range for 2013-2015 was limited to inflation plus 1%. / Press release, Decision No. 12-1353 (pdf - in French only)

- 5 November 2012: ARCEP published the contributions to the public consultation conducted from 12 June to 13 July 2012 on the intangible benefits likely to accrue to La Poste from its obligation to maintain territorial presence, as well as a summary thereof. / Summary / Contributions (Akoya and La Poste) (in French only)

- 30 October 2012: ARCEP published its annual assessment of the net cost of increasing the density of La Poste's network in pursuit of its territorial development mission for 2011, arriving at a total of 247 million euros. / Decision No. 2012-1311 (pdf - in French only)

- 25 October 2012: In 2011, the addressed-item postal market represented 13.8 billion euros from 18.3 billion items. 2011 brought a fresh upturn in revenue (up 1.0% overall) after a steady decrease every year since 2007 had preceded stabilisation in 2010. This growth is linked to higher revenue from parcels, items against signature, press-item delivery and to lower loss of revenue from delivery of correspondence (down 1.6% in 2011 compared with-3.0% in 2010). Addressed-item volumes fell 2.6% over the year, in line with the decrease in the number of items of correspondence (-3.2 %) which account for nearly 80 % of delivered items. / The Observatory

- 19 October 2012: As part of its mission of monitoring the reliability of universal service quality measurement, ARCEP published a recommendation about procedures for implementing the audit for measuring priority-letter and green-letter quality. / The recommendation (pdf - in French only)

- 27 July 2012: How to become postal operator? The Authority publishes a guide to the main legal obligations, along with a form to download.
The guide (pdf - in French only)
Form (doc- in French only)

- 26 July 2012: ARCEP launched a public consultation on a document updating the device followed by the universal postal service. The views of interested persons is sought on the consultation paper and a draft decision on the monitoring of universal service obligations of La Poste associated with it. The consultation is open until 17 September 2012 / Public consultation (pdf - in French only) / project associated decision (pdf - in French only)

- 23 July 2012 : ARCEP launched a public consultation on the role of the postmark. End of the Public consultaton at 17 September 2012 / The public consultation (pdf - in French only)

- 12 June 2012:
ARCEP launched a public consultation on the intangible benefits likely to accrue to La Poste under its obligation to maintain a territorial presence. / The press release / The public consultation (pdf - in English)
ARCEP published the universal postal service declaration of compliance for financial year 2011. Mazars, the company approved by ARCEP to audit La Poste's statutory accounts for financial years 2011 and 2012, issued a certificate attesting that it had no comments to make on compliance of the statutory accounts for financial year 2011. / The certificate (pdf - in French only)

- 30 May to 2 June 2012: The 20th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics organised by the Center of Research in Regulated Industries CRRI) attached to Rutgers University was held in Brighton (United Kingdom). For two and a half days, academics, operators, suppliers, trade unions, regulators, and consultants from Europe and North America presented their postal economics work. ARCEP's contribution, for instance, was about delivery economics. Joëlle Toledano, Professor at Supélec, and former ARCEP Executive Board member, gave a presentation entitled: "Status of the postal service twenty years after the (European Commission) Green Paper" / The Conference website / Joëlle Toledano's presentation

- 31 May 2012: ARCEP delivered a favourable opinion on tariff changes for universal-service press items, approving an average increase of 4.3% from 1 June / Opinion No. 2012-0575 (pdf - in French only)

- 13 April 2012:
Consumers: ARCEP published its findings about the processing of postal service user complaints in 2011. Among other things, this document specified the five improvements expected of postal services / The press release
Universal postal service quality in 2011: On 31 March, La Poste published statistics for universal postal service quality in 2011. Transmission times improved considerably, up nearly 4 points (to 87.3%) for the percentage of priority letters delivered in D+1 and up 6.7 points (to 92.5%) for registered letters delivered in D+2. The percentage of parcels posted at post offices that were delivered in D+2 rose 3.9 points to 88.7%. This publication, introduced in 2006 at ARCEP's request, can be accessed on La Poste's website. / 2011 results

- 12 April 2012: After the public consultation conducted from 17 January to 2 March 2012 on its work on La Poste's statutory accounts, ARCEP published a summary of this consultation which also sets out the policy guidelines adopted for its 2012 work / Summary of the public consultation / Stakeholder contributions

- 1 March 2012: ARCEP delivered its opinion on La Poste's proposed tariff changes for parcel services coming under the universal service / The press release

- 17 February 2012: ARCEP adopted a Decision on La Poste's statutory accounts / The press release

- 6 February 2012: ARCEP published a declaration of compliance concerning the universal postal service for financial year 2010. The Post and Electronic Communications Code provides that ARCEP commission from a body approved by it that is competent and independent of the universal service operator an annual audit of compliance with the rules established by ARCEP, and at the universal service operator's expense, of the universal service operator's accounts. ARCEP must also publish a declaration of compliance for the universal service. In Decision No. 2010-0713 of 6 July 2010, ARCEP approved KPMG for conducting the audit of La Poste's statutory accounts for financial years 2009 and 2010. In application of the law, ARCEP published KPMG's declaration of compliance for financial year 2010 comprising two documents filed on 26 July 2011: one about statutory reporting, the other about the data used to assess La Poste's tariff framework (the price cap)
Procedural report on examination of La Poste's statutory accounts for financial year 2010
Procedural report on examination of the elements of La Poste's price cap for financial year 2010

- 3 February 2012: ARCEP closed the public inquiry into the marketing of La Poste Group letter services (priority letter, green letter and economy letter) / The press release

- 17 January 2012: ARCEP launched a public consultation (deadline:10 February 2012) on a draft decision concerning La Poste's statutory accounts reporting and on guidelines for ARCEP's future work on La Poste's statutory accounts (deadline: 2 March 2012) / The press release

- 12 January 2012: La Poste's price cap extended for 2012
ARCEP published its Decision No. 2011-1451 extending the 2009 - 2011 multi-year universal postal service tariff framework to 2012. In view of the current uncertainties (decline in traffic, impact of introduction of the "green letter", etc.), this solution seemed the most appropriate.
Thus, universal service tariff changes were aligned on inflation + 0.3%, making 2% for 2012. Given previous changes, the tariff increase La Poste can apply in 2012 is limited to 1.5%.
After overstepping the authorised price cap in 2011, La Poste undertook not to increase its prices for corporate (machine-franked) items in 2011.
Moreover, the "green letter" which is to play an important universal service role, was given its own tariff framework. In 2012, changes are confined to the same formula as that applied to general tariff changes, i.e. 2%. Moreover, the tariff gap between the green letter and the priority letter remains the same.
Decision No. 2011-1451 of 20 December 2011 (pdf - in French only)

2011

- 21 December 2011 : ARCEP fines La Poste for failing to include an offer allowing the shipment of small items at an affordable price in the universal service. As a result, the Authority is imposing a fine of €1 million which it believes is proportionate to the ascertained breach / Press release 

- 24 November 2011 : The European Regulator Group for Postal Services (ERGP) met in plenary session in Paris, under the chairmanship of Joëlle Toledano, ARCEP Executive Board member. Subgroups worked on the allocation of postal operator costs; on universal service obligation net cost calculation and evaluation of a reference scenario; end user satisfaction and monitoring of postal markets; cross-border services; and access to the postal network and to postal infrastructure elements. In accordance with the elections held during the plenary, Göran MARBY, Director General of the Swedish regulator (PTS) will take over as ERGP Chair from Joëlle Toledano in 2012. Marie-Laure Denis, ARCEP Executive Board member, will become Vice-Chair in her stead / Press release, ERGP website
"The fact that regulators are initiating and introducing economic analysis mechanisms will improve the quality of the political debate". Interview with Joëlle Toledano, Chair of the European Regulator Group for Postal Services (ERGP) excerpted from the "Cahiers de l'ARCEP n° 5" - March 2011 / The interview

- 26 September 2011: ARCEP publishes its annual assessment of the net cost of increasing the density of the La Poste network in pursuit of its regional development mandate. / Press release

- 29 July 2011: ARCEP publishes the results of a 2010 report produced by the firm BASIC on the routing business in France. The report enables a better understanding of the evolution of this market which is closely bound up with the evolution of the physical volume of postal items, while technological developments (information processing, switch to electronic solutions) are coming to alter the expertise required and affect the investments needed to engage in the business of router.
In addition to providing a profile of the market just before it was fully opened up to competition on 1 January 2011, the report describes the development outlook for the routing business over the next few years.
Report
Report summary

- 16 May 2011: On 12 May, the Competition Authority announced an emergency measure for La Poste to preserve competition in the parcel delivery sector. ARCEP has published the opinion that it gave to the Competition Authority on this request for conservatory measures submitted by the firm Kiala France / Competition Authority statement / Competition Authority Decision / ARCEP Decision No. 2011-0195

- 6 May 2011: ARCEP ascertained a decline in the quality of the universal postal service in 2010. In response to a request from the Authority, La Poste published quality of service figures for the universal postal service for 2010. After having improved steadily for several years running, the quality of a number of products that are widely used by consumers has decreased. Extreme weather conditions in 2010, along with the eruption of the Eyjafjöll volcano in Iceland which affected air travel, could explain this decline to some degree.
The rate of next-day delivery for first class mail decreased from 84.7% in 2009 to 83.4% in 2010. There was also a significant drop in the rate of two-day delivery for Colissimo registered mail, used for important items, which decreased from 88.7% to 84.8%. La Poste has nevertheless improved the speed at which it process complaints concerning letters and parcels, reporting a 99% rate of response within 21 days. / Press release / Figures on the quality of the universal postal service in 2010

- 3 May 2011: ARCEP publishes its opinion on postal rates for 2011 and 2012, and on changes made to the line of universal service products.
Opinions 11-0415 / 11-0417 / 11-0418 and 11-0429

- 4 February 2011: publication in the Journal Officiel of Order No. 2011-144 of 2 February 2011 concerning the sending of a registered letter via e-mail for the conclusion or execution of a contract. / ARCEP Opinion No. 2010-0764 of 6 July 2010 on the draft order issued in application of Article 1369-8 of the Civil Code concerning the sending of a registered letter via e-mail.

- 20 January 2011: "We are all wondering what the postal business model will be": appointed Chair of the new European regulators group for post for a one-year term, ARCEP Board member, Joëlle Toledano, talks to Euractiv.fr about major issues on the horizon. / Interview

- 17 January 2011: Postal services users can now appeal to ARCEP concerning complaints that were not resolved by the procedures put in place by postal service providers. / Press release / System for submitting complaints to ARCEP (in French): Summary / Full details

- 1 January 2011: The distribution of letters weighing less than 50 grams is now open to competition. In an article published in the latest issue of the Cahiers de l'ARCEP, the Authority provides a thorough overview of the full liberalisation of the postal market. / Article, online version (in French) / Article published on page 54 of Issue 4 of the Cahiers de l'ARCEP

2010

- 28 December 2010 : From 1 January 2011, delivery of letters weighing less than 50 grams will be opened up to competition. In an article published in the latest issue of Les cahiers de l'ARCEP, ARCEP takes stock of total letter-market liberalisation. / The article published in Les cahiers de l'ARCEP, issue 4/2010, page 54

- 1st december 2010 : European Regulators Group for Post (ERGP) - strengthened regulatory cooperation for an innovative and competitive postal delivery sector. Joëlle Toledano, member of ARCEP, named ERGP Chairman for 2011 /  Press release

- Publications adopted by the first ERGP Plenary :
 Rules of Procedure (pdf - ) 
Work Programme (pdf - )

- 26 November 2010 : ARCEP launched a public consultation on thirty proposals for improving services offered to consumers by Internet service providers, fixed-line or mobile operators and postal operators / Press release

- 28 October 2010 : ARCEP published its Annual Observatory of Postal Activities in France for 2009 / The statistics

- 28 May 2010 : ARCEP published the findings of a study conducted by WIK Consult on the definition and methodology for evaluating intangible benefits related to the universal postal service. This study was based on documentary and theoretical analysis and on discussions between WIK Consultant, La Poste and alternative postal operators. The Postal Directive explicitly stipulates that intangible benefits which may accrue to a designated universal postal service provider must be taken into account in calculating net universal service costs. However, the question had not been given much study to date, either in France or in other European countries - hence the usefulness of this study for calculating the cost and financing of the universal postal service, both in France and abroad / Consultant's study in English, ARCEP's summary of the main study findings (in French), La Poste's comments

- 17 May 2010 : ARCEP published an opinion and a decision about postal tariffs:
ARCEP Decision No. 2010-0469 of 20 April 2010 approving tariffs for domestic mail products falling within the universal service's reserved area and set out in La Poste's Tariff Dossier dated 24 March 2010
ARCEP Opinion No. 2010-0470 of 20 April 2010 on tariffs for domestic mail products falling within the universal service's non-reserved area and set out in La Poste's Tariff Dossier dated 24 March 2010

- 12 April 2010 : ARCEP concluded its public consultation on La Poste's cost issues / Press release

- 24 March 2010 : Sending of small postal items: ARCEP reminds La Poste of its universal service obligations / Press release

- 27 February 2010 : Publication in the Journal Officiel of Decree No. 2010-191 of 26 February 2010 laying down La Poste's initial statutes and containing various provisions relating to La Poste

- 10 February 2010 : Publication in the Journal Officiel of Law No. 2010-123 of 9 February 2010 on the public corporation La Poste and on postal activities / The Law

- 4 February 2010 : The Constitutional Council ratified the Law on the public corporation La Poste and on postal activities adopted on 12 January 2010 / Constitutional Council's decision, draft Law

- 22 January 2010 : ARCEP launched a public consultation on La Poste's accounting rules, in particular those reflecting the impact of item weight and format on operator costs. A summary description of La Poste's statutory cost accounting system and a cost simulation model for postal delivery are available / English version of the public consultation

- 12 January 2010 : The Law on the public corporation La Poste and on postal activities adopted by the Senate on 9 November 2009 and by the National Assembly on 23 December 2009 was ratified by the Joint Committee. The text charges ARCEP to conduct an annual evaluation of the net cost of supplementing the network so as to carry out the regional development mission assigned to La Poste. (…) ARCEP must also submit an annual report to the Government and to Parliament about the net cost of this network " / Dossier on the National Assembly website and on the Senate website

2009

- 16 November 2009 : ARCEP published a comparative study and national survey of postal markets in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Sweden. The general conclusions were that it takes time and practical experience for end-to-end competition to develop on the postal market. The incumbent operator has the means to react (productivity, tariff equalisation). The market shares acquired by alternative operators in end-to-end competition are limited by technical and economic factors (economies of scale, access to letter boxes, address data) / The comparative study

- 9 November 2009 : The Senate adopted the draft law on the public corporation La Poste and on postal activities. The text was fast-tracked to the National Assembly / Senate press release, the draft law, the dossier on the Senate website

The text adopted by the Senate impacts on ARCEP's powers in several ways:
The new Article 2ter instructs ARCEP to conduct an annual evaluation of the cost of supplementing the network so as to carry out the regional development mission assigned to La Poste.

Article 20 specifies that ARCEP may request the alteration or suspension of proposed tariffs for all services coming under the universal service in the event of non-compliance with the tariff principles applicable to the universal service. The same Article states that ARCEP ensures compliance with the universal service's quality of service objectives, as ordered by the Minister responsible for Posts in accordance with the procedures decreed in Article L. 2. It also ensures the publication and accuracy of the quality testing of services provided by La Poste.

Article 21 empowers ARCEP to process complaints by postal service users that could not be satisfied within the procedural framework put in place by authorised postal service providers.

- 2-6 November 2009 : Senate debate on the first reading of the draft law on the public corporation La Poste and on postal activities / The dossier

- 21 October 2009 : ARCEP published its Postal Activities Observatory for 2008. Items of correspondence accounted for EUR 8.4 billion in 2008, representing more than half of revenue generated by the French postal market, totalling EUR 14.8 billion [addressed items only]. Revenue from letters weighing less than 50 grams, La Poste's monopoly sector, generated EUR 6.2 billion. At 31 December 2008, ARCEP had granted authorisations to 21 operators besides La Poste. / The Observatory

- 9 July 2009 : Talks between the Chairman and Executive Board of ARCEP and Jean-Paul Bailly, President of La Poste, and his executive staff / Press release

- 27 May 2009 : Speech by Joëlle Toledano, ARCEP Executive Board member, at the 17th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics / Speech

- 4 February 2009 : La Poste launched a new small-items product better geared to consumer requirements / See the article in ARCEP Newsletter No. 65, January-February 2009

- 16 January 2009 : Announcement of a one-euro-cent increase in the price of a postage stamp, to € 0.56, from 2 March 2009 / La Poste press release (in French) / ARCEP Decision on tariffs for domestic mail items falling within the universal postal service's reserved area

- 2 January 2009 : Publication in the Journal Officiel of the Ministerial Order on conditions for the exemption from postage of literature for the blind when sent as ordinary or registered items covered by national and cross-border postal services (JO of 16 January 2009) / Ministerial Order / ARCEP Opinion

2008

- 9 December 2008 : ARCEP issued a communication about the publication, for 2007, of the declaration of compliance concerning La Poste's statutory accounting system / The communication and its annex (declaration of compliance concerning La Poste)

- 3 December 2008 : ARCEP published its decision about La Poste's tariff framework for universal service products for 2009-2011. For this period, the cap on La Poste tariff increases will correspond to the rate of inflation, plus a further 0.3 % per year on average, i.e. 2.3% for 2009 / Decision No. 08-1286

- 15 to 17 October 2008: the sixth annual meeting of the Réseau francophone de la régulation des télécommunications (FRATEL) was held in Tunis and included a workshop on postal regulation for the first time. Attracting over ten regulators as well as representatives of the private and public postal sector (la Poste de Tunisie, Universal Postal Union, etc.), this workshop was an opportunity to discuss "the implementation of the postal regulation framework" and "the choice of a distribution model to guarantee quality service in a changing market" / Summary press release

- 30 June 2008: "…the year 2007 was marked by satisfactions, such as the completion of initial works on La Poste's accounting (...) However, it ended with a major disappointment: the withdrawal of ADREXO, the main competitor seeking a foothold on the addressed distribution market in France. (...). Competition is emerging with difficulty in other major European countries; but I see that the French market is especially static, and with constant legislation, by 2011, there no major network will be able to emerge in France such as the Swedish City mail, the Dutch Sandd, German operators or the Spanish Unipost": along with members of the board, Paul Champsaur, ARCEP chairman, presented ARCEP's 2007 activity report to sector players on 30 June / Paul Champsaur's speech / The postal section of the 2007 report / The entire 2007 report

- 11 June 2008: "The French postal market, three years after the voting of the postal law": an article by Catherine Gallet-Rybak, Cécile Moreno, Daniel Nadal and Joëlle Toledano (the opinions expressed in the article are those of the authors and are not necessarily shared by ARCEP) presented at the 16th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics organised by the Center for Research in Regulated Industries of Rutgers University, from 28 to 31 May 2008 in Albufeira, Portugal (Appearing soon in Postal Reform) / Read the article

- 23 April 2008: La Poste publishes its quality of service results for the universal service in 2007 on its website (delivery times and convenience of access to the main postal services, number of complaints and their processing). This scorecard was the focus of work performed jointly by La Poste and ARCEP, based notably on a public consultation conducted by the Authority on users’ needs in terms of information on the quality of the universal postal service. The format of the scorecard will evolve in accordance with user needs and La Poste information systems, with new parameters already planned for measurement in 2008. / ARCEP public consultation / ARCEP communiqué / QoS results for the universal postal service in 2007

- 7 April 2008: ARCEP publishes a report commissioned from the firm Basic on routing in France / report summary

- 28 March 2008: The Lettre de L'Autorité (No. 61, March-April 2008) publishes an interview with Jörg Reinbothe, Head of Unit E3 DG, Internal Market, European Commission, concerning the postponement to 2009-2011 of opening the postal market to full competition, a postponement which “cannot be an excuse to do nothing or used to adopt protectionist measures,” he warns. / read the interview (in French)

- 17 March 2008: ARCEP authorises La Poste to increase Colissimo tariffs "provided a complementary offer exists” which allows, as it does in other European countries, to send small items such as CDs and DVDs, “at a price equivalent or close to the “letter” tariff” / Opinion No. 08-0002

- 14 March 2008: "I think that market opening under strict "weight/price limits" monopoly conditions does not provide competitors with sufficient economic space to emerge on the market.” Regulation, competition and universal service in the postal sector: Paul Champsaur speaking at the IDEI conference on 14 March 2008, in Toulouse / ARCEP Chairman’s speech (French / English )

- 19 February 2008: On 12 February 2008, the Authority adopted a decision on accounting rules for the La Poste regulatory accounting system / Decision No. 2008-0165, summary and responses (La Poste, Adrexo) to the public consultation conducted by ARCEP. Reminder: Summary description of the La Poste accounting system  

- 15 February 2008: ARCEP publishes the results of its public consultation on accessing letter boxes installed in buildings equipped with access control systems / the communiqué / In a video interview, ARCEP Board member, Denis Rapone, comments on the results of the public consultation. Watch the interview with Denis Rapone 

- 31 January 2008: The European Parliament and Council postpone opening the postal market to full competition to 2011 (initially scheduled for 1 January 2009), with the possibility of allowing certain Member States to postpone the date by two more years, at the most. / Commission communiqué on the new postal directive

2007

- 19 December 2007: ARCEP published decision no. 07-1098 dated 6 December 2007 which approves the new domestic post prices presented by La Poste on 16 November 2007; the price of letters weighing less than 20 grams, using a postage stamp, will increase from €0.54 to €0.55, representing a 1.85% increase / Decision no. 07-1098

- 12 December 2007: ARCEP organised a chat on its website on the topic of postal competition and La Poste’s obligations. The chat involved up to 124 people connected simultaneously (connection peak) and 307 people throughout the duration of the chat. ARCEP answered 27 questions live / The transcript of the chat is available on line

- 29 November 2007:
ARCEP published the text of the public consultation it is conducting until 11 January on the draft decision regarding the cost accounting rules for La Poste / Public consultation and draft decision
ARCEP launched a public consultation on access to mailboxes installed inside apartment buildings equipped with controlled access / The press release

– 21 November 2007: ARCEP published the summary of its public consultation on users’ needs as concerns information on the quality of universal postal service; the written public contributions from players are also on line. Based on these, ARCEP will initiate discussions with La Poste on the publication of indicators considered desirable to produce reliable and useful information for users / summary of the consultation of 13 June (pdf) / player contributions (zip - 619 Kb)

- 18 October 2007: the postal activities and related postal object distribution markets generated €15.2 billion in income in 2006 for a volume of 39.3 billion items. The two largest markets are "items of correspondence" (i.e. mail) and advertising in mailboxes (called "direct mail"). The 3^rd survey of the statistical observatory of postal activities (2006) is available on line 

- 10 October 2007: Paul Champsaur spoke to the National Assembly’s Commission of Economic Affairs on plans to revise the postal directive and the priorities to ensure that the opening of postal markets is successful in France. / The speech of ARCEP’s chairman

- 3 October 2007: on page 11 of issue 57, La Lettre de l'Arcep took a close look at how small objects are sent by mail / Download the article

- 1 October 2007: the European Council of Ministers set 1^st January 2011 as the date for completing postal liberalisation. It will be done in stages, and will concern second class mail weighing less than 50 g / Press release from the European Commission in English and Press release from the State Secretariat for Business

- 10 August 2007: La Poste announced the launch, on 20 August 2007, of a public consultation regarding its new direct marketing offers. Direct marketing senders and depositors are invited to read the new pricing conditions and to participate in this offer. These new offers will include changes to the sales agreements between La Poste and its major customers. An agreement on business mail weighing more than 50 grams will be added to current agreements covering direct marketing and business mail weighing less than 50 grams. On ARCEP’s request, the Conseil de la Concurrence will have to ensure that this new offer is acceptable / La Poste’s press release / Participate in La Poste’s consultation

- 26 July 2007 : ARCEP meets with consumer associations and extends the deadline for the public consultation about what information postal service users need and expect about universal service quality / Press release

- 13th June 2007 : ARCEP launches a public consultation on what information postal service users need and expect about universal service quality / Press release

- 25 May 2007: ARCEP published the digest of the public consultation launched on 6 April 2007 about the draft decision on accounting system specifications / digest / stakeholder contributions / final decision

- 19 April 2007: ARCEP authorised two new companies - Alternative Post (Decision No. 07-0359) and JS Activ' (Decision No. 07-0360) – to provide postal operator services

- 12 April 2007: La Poste announced the universal postal service quality results for 2006. This information is available from page 69 onwards of the universal postal service catalogue which can be downloaded from La Poste's website. Within the framework of its mission of monitoring the universal postal service, ARCEP can request the indicators published to cover a broader area and will ensure measurements are reliable.

- 6 April 2007: ARCEP launched a public consultation, with a reply deadline of 4 May, about a draft decision concerning the accounting refunds it requires of La Poste / Public consultation, draft decision

- 15 March 2007: ARCEP granted two new postal authorisations (outward cross-border correspondence) to Royal Mail Group PLC (No. 07-0254) and Deutsche Post Global Mail (France) (No. 07-0253)

- 16 January 2007: In Newsletter No. 54, ARCEP took stock of postal authorisations. Six months after the granting of the first authorisation to Adrexo, the threshold of 10 authorised postal operators had been reached / Newsletter article

- 7 January 2007 : Publication in the Journal Officiel of Decree No. 2007-29 concerning the universal postal service and La Poste's rights and obligations and amending the Postal and Electronic Communications Code, flanked by ARCEP opinion No. 06-0266

2006

- 21 December 2006: ARCEP published the Postal Activities Statistical Observatory for 2005 / Observatory

- December 2006: ARCEP was made responsible for supervising the universal postal service and its quality. In this capacity, it publishes the universal service quality results notified to it by La Poste for 2005.

- 26 October 2006: ARCEP authorised the La Poste Group to provide non-reserved services for items of correspondence / Decision No. 06-1091

- 18 October 2006: the European Commission proposed full market opening by 2009/ Commission Press release, speech by Charlie McCreevy, Commissioner for Internal Market and Services and proposal for a Directive.

- 7 September 2006: following Adrexo, IMX France and Deutsche Post AG in June, the Authority issued licences to three new operators on 7 September: Swiss Post International France (decision No. 06-0873), as well as two local operator companies, Althus (decision No. 06-0845) and Stamper's (decision No. 06-0874).

- 17 August 2006: Decree No. 2006-1020 of 11 August 2006 concerning postal service operators' liability was published in the Journal Officiel, as well as in ARCEP opinion No. 06-0459 of 25 April 2006.

- 27 July 2006: the Authority approved La Poste's new tariffs within the framework of the price cap:
- decision concerning domestic mail products (No. 06-0690) ;
- opinion on tariff changes for international mail (No. 06-0693) ;
- opinion on changes to the " Insured" product range (No. 06-0694) .

- 13 June 2006: ARCEP issued the first postal licence to Adrexo and laid down the framework for La Poste's tariffs for 2006-2008. La Poste will have the option of increasing universal service tariffs within a global envelope of 2.1% a year in 2006, 2007 and 2008 / Press release on the first licence issued by the Authority, press release on the framework for La Poste's tariffs, documents presented at the 13 June 2006 press conference  (ppt – 4.6 Mb)

- 17 May 2006: ARCEP published its first postal tariff opinions on changes in postal tariffs for public service transport and delivery of press items in 2006 (No. 05-1065) and on the tariff decision concerning changes in the "mobilité" range (No. 06-0264). The ARCEP decision proposing to the Minister for the Post that he specify the obligations of licensed postal service providers (No. 06-0333) was also published on the same day.

- 5 May 2006: the decree (No. 2006-507) on postal licences was published in the Journal Officiel of 5 May 2006, as was the ARCEP opinion (No. 05-1008). Moreover, an order made in application of Article R. 1-2-6 of the Post and Electronic Communications Code published in the Journal Officiel the same day specifies the obligations of licensed postal service providers. The annexes are available for consultation on this page.

- 11 April 2006: the Authority published the results of a study carried out by TNS Sofres to ascertain what mail users wanted. In this initial study, the Authority geared its analysis to the behaviour and expectations of users of so-called "single-piece" mail, hitherto little known or poorly understood. These are households and companies, particularly SMEs/ The press release / the presentation of the study in English (ppt)

- 11 April 2006 : to obtain a better knowledge of postal markets and to respond to the high expectations of sector stakeholders and the public, ARCEP instituted collection of data about operator activities in France in 2004. This initial survey produced the main sector indicators: revenue, traffic volumes and number of access points / Press release / Postal Observatory
 
- 19 January 2006 : the report on the 10^th ARCEP Talks on regulation and the postal sector became available for downloading / The report

2005

- 21 December 2005 : the European Commission gave the go-ahead for conversion of La Poste's financial services business into a subsidiary called "Banque Postale" / The Commission's press release  

- 24 November 2005 : speech by Commissioner Charlie McCreevy on the postal Directive / The speech  

- 22 November 2005 : the Directorate General for Enterprise (DGE) of the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry launched a national consultation on the draft postal regulation decrees (implementation of Law No. 2005-516 of 20 May 2005) and, in particular, on the draft decree on procedures for issuing licences / The public consultation 

- 17 November 2005 : The Conseil de la concurrence (France's competition authority) fined the La Poste Group for discriminatory price practices in favour of certain mail senders and its subsidiary Datapost/ Conseil de la concurrence press release / Decision No. 05-D-63

- 6 October 2005 : ARCEP held its 10th Talks at Paris-Dauphine University on the topic of "Regulation, which goals for the Postal Sector" / Speech by François Loos, Minister for Industry / Speech by Paul Champsaur, Chairman of ARCEP

- July-August 2005 : ARCEP published issue 45 of its Newsletter devoting its main article to the regulation of postal activities / The ARCEP newsletter

- 20 May 2005 : promulgation of the Law on regulation of postal activities / The Law

2004

- 28 January 2004 : the draft Law on regulation of postal activities was adopted by the Senate at its first reading / The draft Law

2002

- 16 July 2002 : adoption of Directive 2002/39/EC by the European Parliament and the Council of 10 June 2002 amending Directive 97/67/EC by defining further steps in opening up Community postal services to competition (Publication in ECOJ No. L 176 of 05/07/2002 pages 21 - 25) / The Directive

Introduction

The law of 20 May 2005 on regulation of postal activities was published in the Journal Officiel on 21 May 2005.

With regard to regulation, the following principal decisions came into immediate effect:

- the conversion of ART into ARCEP (Autorité de Régulation des Communications Electroniques et des Postes);

- the principles of the universal mail service;

- the outlines of the reserved sector (monopoly) of La Poste, the universal service provider;

- ARCEP's consultative role as regards implementation decrees, in particular the decree on the characteristics of the universal service which La Poste is required to provide and the decree on the system for licensing La Poste's competitors to deliver items of correspondence (addressed mail from households and companies weighing over 100 g) that are open to competition.

- Regulation procedures (issue and monitoring of licences, accounting and tariff control of the universal service provider, monitoring of universal service quality, investigations and sanctions, settlement of disputes, referral to the Conseil de la concurrence…) were to come into effect six months after promulgation, in November 2005.

In addition, the text lays down the rules for La Poste's presence throughout the national territory as part of its spatial planning and development mission (which is above and beyond its universal service mission). As a result, implementing and monitoring this mission do not come under postal regulation as assigned to ARCEP. The Law also authorizes La Poste to set up a banking subsidiary, within the framework of the rules of the Monetary and Financial Code.

The postal sector's regulatory framework

A European development process (1992-2002)

Green Paper

The Green Paper on the Development of the Single Market for Postal Services published by the European Commission in June 1992 marked the start of community postal policy. The main objectives of the Green Paper were ensuring the long-term future and improvement of the universal service along with expansion of the competitive area and better conditions for forwarding cross-border mail, which were felt to be unsatisfactory. The text thus made provision for granting certain exclusive rights to ensure the long-term future of the universal service.

In 1994, the Council of Ministers passed a resolution setting the objectives governing the preparation of community postal regulations, namely:

- to guarantee the provision at community level of a quality, affordable universal service accessible to all;

- to ensure the economic and financial viability of the universal service by defining a reservable sector of an appropriate size for its provider;

- to reconcile gradual, controlled liberalization of the postal market with guaranteed durability of the universal service.

The Council also asked the Commission to prepare a Directive defining the universal service and specifying a list of reservable services. Making adoption of this Community Directive possible was to take almost three years.

The 1997 framework Directive and the 2002 amended Directive

Two European Directives (1997 and 2002) presided over the opening of the postal sector to competition.

Directive 97/67/EC, the so-called framework postal Directive, was a harmonizing Directive. Adopted on 15 December 1997, it established the principle of a postal universal service defined in accordance with common rules: guaranteeing minimum services, imposing restrictions on how the universal service provider can be organized and setting quality of service objectives.

It guaranteed the availability of the offer of a universal service and set the conditions for its financing. It defined the main missions of Member States through the creation of an independent national regulation authority (NRA) charged with accomplishing the tasks arising from the Directive (including the sustainability and monitoring of the universal service, transparent and separate accounting, monitoring of quality of service).

It also established the principle of a gradual, controlled opening up of the postal sector to competition, envisaging total market liberalization in 2009.

Directive 2002/39/CE of 10 June 2002 specified the stages in postal sector liberalization:

- from 1 January 2003, the reservable area, i.e. the services the universal service operator may keep as a monopoly, was confined to domestic and incoming cross-border items of correspondence up to 100g. In 2006, this threshold was to be reduced to 50g.

- the possible date of 2009 for total opening up to competition would have to be confirmed by the European Commission before the end of 2006, on the basis of impact studies.

The Directive also provided that universal service providers may propose so-called "special tariffs" for services for businesses, bulk mailers or consolidators of mail from different customers

Lastly, it prohibited cross-subsidization between the reserved area and the competitive area, unless such a subsidy was strictly necessary to fulfil specific universal service obligations imposed in the competitive area.

Transposition of the Directives into French Law (1999-2005)

Article 19 of the Law of 25 June 1999 on Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development

This Law transposes the main obligations of the Directive of 15 December 1997. The text amends Articles L.1 and L.2 of the Post and Telecommunications Code, defining the universal service with its principles and the guarantees given to users, as well as a sector reserved for the universal service provider to compensate for the costs incurred through the universal service and to guarantee its long-term future within the maximum limits provided for in the 1997 Directive. Article 25 of this Law designates La Poste as the postal universal service provider in France.

These provisions were the subject of two implementation decrees:

- Decree No. 2001-122 of 8 February 2001, amending La Poste's terms of reference with regard to the general conditions for executing the postal universal service and the obligations incumbent on La Poste in its capacity as the universal service provider;

- Decree No. 2001-1335 of 28 December 2001 appointing a postal universal service mediator and organizing a procedure for processing postal universal service user complaints.

This minimum transposition of the Directives proved inadequate for two reasons:

- the opening up of the sector to competition taking account of the reduction in the weight-price limit for the monopoly in 2003 and 2006 set in the Directive as amended in 2002 was not transposed (the monopoly continued to apply up to 350g);

- the incompatibility between French regulations and the obligations arising from the 1997 postal Directive (Article 22) concerning separation of the functions of the national regulatory authority and the postal operator.

In this provision, the Minister for the Post was de facto appointed as the national regulatory authority with the duty of carrying out the tasks deriving from the postal Directive. However, this same Minister supervised La Poste and, as part of these duties, was responsible for its economic performance, for defining its strategic policies and appointing its senior administrators. Consequently, this provision seemed to be out of step with the changes in the European postal legal framework. Moreover, France was one of the few Union countries which had not introduced an independent regulator.

Law on Postal Regulation (May 2005)

The Law of 20 May 2005 on regulation of postal activities and creation of ARCEP

It was in this context that France chose to modernize the legal provisions governing postal activities by means of draft legislation specifically for this sector which included the elements necessary for transposing the Directive of 10 June 2002. On 16 July 2003, Nicole Fontaine, the Minister for Industry, submitted the draft Law to the Council of Ministers. It was discussed by the Senate in January 2004 and then by the National Assembly in January 2005 before being put to the vote on 3 May 2005 and finally adopted on 12 May.

Published in the Journal Officiel on 21 May 2005, Law No. 2005-516 of 20 May 2005 on regulation of postal activities is organized around three major lines of thrust, each covered by different articles:

- organization of the postal market, which is basically the subject of Article 1;

- the introduction of regulation of this market, which is the subject of Article 2. The legislature assigned regulation of postal activities to ART, which became ARCEP, and made ARCEP responsible for supervising the liberalization and proper functioning of the postal market as well as for ensuring the financing and protection of the universal service;

- the recasting of the legal framework of La Poste's financial services, described in Article 8, outside the scope of postal regulation.

This new legal framework transposes into national legislation the European Directive of 15 December 1997, in particular as regards the creation of an independent regulator, and the Directive of 10 June 2002 on the on-going opening up of mail services to competition.

ARCEP's missions and powers

Using the ART as a foundation, the Law regulating postal activities created an independent regulatory authority called ARCEP (Autorité de Régulation des Communications Electroniques et des Postes) with specific postal regulatory powers.

Organization

ARCEP's Executive Board comprises seven members (compared to ART's five) appointed for a six-year term on the strength of their economic, legal and technical qualifications in the fields of electronic communications, the Post and regional economics. Their terms are non-revocable and non-renewable.

Missions

The regulation of postal activities aims to reconcile the existence and viability of the postal universal service with the phasing in of competition on the letter-post items market. ARCEP regulates the postal sector by:

- issuing licences and implementing the rights and obligations attached to them. The Law institutes a licensing system for the domestic letter-post market (including delivery) and cross-border items. This system creates a framework of rights and obligations for operators in these markets. A decree is to specify the procedures for implementing this licensing system.

- monitoring La Poste’s universal service mission and in particular its performance in terms of quality of service. ARCEP oversees compliance with the universal service quality objectives decreed by the Minister for the Post in accordance with the procedures laid down by the decree. ARCEP commissions an independent body to conduct an annual quality of service review and publishes its findings.

- accounting and price control of the universal service provider. In order to implement the principles of separate, transparent accounts, and in particular to guarantee universal service financing conditions, ARCEP lays down cost accounting rules, defines specifications for the accounting systems and ensures that the universal service provider complies with the cost accounting obligations established by decree. At the universal service provider’s expense, a competent, independent body approved by ARCEP carries out an annual audit of the universal service provider’s accounts, ensuring that they conform to the rules ARCEP has established. The approved, competent and independent body then publishes a declaration of conformity.

ARCEP is also consulted on draft laws and regulations for the postal sector and on matters linked to preparing France's position in European and international negotiations and working groups.

Moreover, ARCEP issues a public opinion on the economic aspects of the tariffs for services provided to the press for the public service transport and delivery of press items, prior to their approval by the Minister for the Post and the Minister for the Economy.

The Minister for the Post prepares and implements regulations applicable to postal services, thereby defining the universal service obligations.

ARCEP's powers

To carry out its missions, the postal regulator has the power to rule on disputes between postal operators as well as investigative powers flanked by a graduated range of sanctions which may be applied to operators failing to comply with the postal business market's operating framework.

- Settlement of disputes

The law provides for two types of dispute:

- disputes arising from the signing or execution of contracts deviating from the conditions of universal service (bulk mailing contracts signed, for instance, with major customers, consolidators);

- disputes arising from agreements about accessing the resources necessary for carrying out postal activities, owned by La Poste (delivery service to P.O. boxes installed in post offices, postcode directory, information collected by La Poste about changes in the addressee's address, redirection service in the case of change of address).

In both cases, ARCEP must ensure that the technical and pricing conditions offered are not discriminatory and issue a ruling within four months.

A Council of State decree is to establish the application conditions for these provisions.

- Sanction powers 

ARCEP’s sanction powers may be used only to sanction default on obligations in respect of exercising postal activity within the scope of universal service. Consequently, ARCEP may sanction only the universal service provider and operators licensed under Article L.3. Other operators, such as service providers operating solely in the parcels field or consolidators are not subject to this power.

ARCEP may exercise its sanction powers only if there is no response to a formal warning. There are different sanctions for licensed operators and for the universal service provider. Fines are applied to all, while licence holders may also face administrative sanctions.

- The Conseil de la concurrence

The Chairman of ARCEP informs France’s competition authority, the Conseil de la concurrence, of any abuses of a dominant position and practices that hamper free competition which come to its attention in the postal area. It may also request the opinion of the Conseil de la concurrence on any other question coming within its purview.

For its part, the Conseil de la concurrence informs ARCEP of any case before it within the latter's purview and requests ARCEP's opinion about practices in the postal activity area on which it is asked to rule.

Postal regulation: establishing a mail-market framework

Scope of regulation

Law No. 2005-516 of 20 May 2005 on regulation of postal activities aims to reconcile the existence and viability of the postal universal service with the phasing in of competition on the market for postal items.

This new legal framework transposes into national legislation the European Directive of 15 December 1997, in particular as regards the creation of an independent regulator, and the Directive of 10 June 2002 on the continued opening up of mail services to competition.

La Poste's banking activities and its planning mission (1) are not included in the scope of postal regulation.

The legislature made ARCEP responsible for supervising the liberalization and proper functioning of the postal market as well as for ensuring the financing and protection of the universal service.

ARCEP discharges this mission mainly through:

- issuing licences for activities which are open to competition;

- controlling the accounts and pricing of the universal service provider;

- settling disputes;

- monitoring La Poste's universal service mission and more specifically its quality of service performance;

- making recommendations and issuing opinions on the financing of the universal service.

ARCEP will be able to exercise these powers six months after promulgation of the Law.

The scope of regulation covers postal service activities which include the clearance, sorting, forwarding and delivery of postal items within the framework of regular rounds. It does not cover the delivery of unaddressed advertising, urban courier services and express conveyance – sectors which are open to competition and therefore come under competition law.

The postal universal service continues to be defined in general terms, in accordance with the principles set out in the 1997 framework Directive:

"The postal universal service shall guarantee the permanent provision of a postal service of specified quality at all points in the national territory at affordable prices for all users.(…)" (Article L.1 of the Post and Electronic Communications Code).

The characteristics of this service – for example the postal services included, procedures for organizing clearance and delivery, criteria for quality of service and access to the universal service – are to be specified in an implementation decree.

Rights and obligations of the universal service operator

Maintaining of a reserved sector

In its capacity as universal service operator (2), La Poste has a reserved sector (monopoly). Under the 2002 Directive, the La Poste monopoly is confined (until the end of 2005) to items of correspondence (domestic or foreign-origin addressed mail from private households and companies) weighing less than 100 g and costing less than three times the basic tariff with a one EUR maximum; in Mai 2005, this basic tariff corresponded to the postage for a letter weighing less than 20 g at 53 centimes. From 1 January 2006, the weight-price limit for the monopoly was reduced to 50 g and to two-and-a-half times the basic tariff.

Subject to a favourable opinion by the European Community before the end of 2006, totally free competition could be introduced in 2009.

The Minister for the Post defines the universal service obligations in the decree on the characteristics of the universal service La Poste is obligated to provide. It will then be ARCEP's responsibility to ensure they are complied with, particularly in respect of quality of service.

Maintaining the universal service

ARCEP's mission also includes laying down the cost-accounting rules for verifying La Poste's compliance with its obligations in respect of the universal service's financial equilibrium and of its financing through reserved sector resources.

Under its tariff monitoring remit, ARCEP is authorized to approve the tariffs for monopoly postal services and to establish the procedures for the multi-year tariff framework for universal service performance in the competitive sector (3), making a distinction between bulk mail and single-piece mail.

If it transpires that the universal service cannot be financed by the service provider under fair conditions, ARCEP can make recommendations to the Minister for the Post about measures to guarantee the provision of this service. There are plans to set up a universal service compensation fund, managed by the Caisse des dépôts et consignations (Consignments and Loans Fund), and the conditions for its implementation will be laid down in a decree, after consulting ARCEP.

Universal service content

The Law sets out the content of the postal universal service in general terms taken from the Directive. It covers domestic and cross-border services for postal items weighing 2 kilogrammes or less, parcels up to 20 kilogrammes, registered items and insured items (Article L. 1 of the PECC).

The characteristics (for instance, the postal services included, organizational procedures, quality of service aspects, access to the universal service) of the universal service La Poste has an obligation to provide are to be specified in a Council of State decree.

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Rights and obligations of licensed operators

Licensing system

Operators competing with La Poste for the delivery of items of correspondence as part of regular rounds are subject to a licensing system. This system does not cover express item operators and couriers which provide services on demand, in a market which is already fully liberalized. Licences are granted for a ten-year period to all providers giving certain guarantees (4) that protect the interests of postal service users, such as compliance with the confidentiality of the mail and the existence of a complaint/inquiry processing procedure and quality of service standards.

The decision to grant a licence must specify the characteristics of the licensed postal services, the territory on which they can be provided as well as information about the processing of complaints/inquiries and quality of service.

If a universal service fund were activated (cf future decrees), the licensed operators might have to contribute to it a percentage of their turnover in the universal service area.

Access rights of licensed operators to postal installations or information owned or held by the universal service provider

Competitors of La Poste which have a licence are allowed access to certain La Poste installations or to information held by La Poste.

On the basis of experience gleaned from foreign regulations where these issues have already had to be addressed, the Law provides for access to four types of resources owned by the universal service provider regarded as indispensable for exercising postal activities:

- a delivery service to P. O. boxes installed in post offices for customers opting for this particular type of delivery;

- the postcode directory supplemented by the link between these codes and the geographical information about streets and addresses; it is important for a reference work like the postcode directory, or any other geographical reference work used for addressing mail, to be transparent.

- information collected by La Poste about addressees' changes of address; in the past, this information was of course notified to the operator that held the postal monopoly. Its retransmission to new postal market entrants, in accordance with economic procedures yet to be specified, is an obvious prerequisite for balanced competition;

- a redirection service in the event of change of address. This type of service cannot be taken on by a licensed operator when the addressee's new address is outside the geographical area covered by that operator. In this case, La Poste will perform this service on behalf of the licensed operator.

Access to private letter boxes

The Law provides that both the universal service provider and the licensed operators are entitled to have access to addressees' letter boxes in order to deliver postal items.

Implementation of this provision raises several legal and technical issues (building security, law on private property) – hence the Minister's decision to submit them to the Conseil Général des Technologies de l’Information (CGTI). Acting on the CGTI's conclusions, it was decided that licensed operators and the universal service provider are entitled to access letter boxes in order to deliver postal items (services within the scope of the postal universal service, i.e. items of correspondence, parcels up to 20 kilogrammes, catalogues, press items, international mail).

Access procedures will have to be identical and defined in a decree issued after consulting ARCEP. The Building and Housing Code will have to be adapted to provide that owners, or in the case of jointly owned property, the syndicate represented by the administrator, must grant access to letter boxes.

Fundamental requirements binding on all postal operators

These requirements apply to the universal service provider, licensed operators and other postal service operators (such as consolidators, operators processing postal parcels, carriers of press items). In particular, they aim to protect consumers by:

- guaranteeing the security of users as well as of the service provider's staff and installations;

- guaranteeing the confidentiality of the items of correspondence and protecting their contents;

- safeguarding personal data held by La Poste or the licensed operators, as well as protecting the private sphere of service users;

- allowing these activities to be exercised under technical conditions which comply with the objective of environmental protection.

Lastly, to implement these missions, ARCEP has sanction and investigative powers and is responsible for settling any disputes between licensed operators, large customers, consolidators and the universal service provider. As for electronic communications, ARCEP may request an opinion of the Conseil de la concurrence or be asked by it for an opinion.

Other key points of the Law outside the area of postal regulation

La Poste's spatial planning and development mission

For the first time, the postal legislation introduces a clear distinction between La Poste's universal service mission and its spatial planning and development mission. These missions are therefore financed from different sources (postal universal service compensation fund / national postal territorial equalization fund).

In effect, postal presence is part of a spatial planning and development mission, as willed by France's law-givers (5), which is therefore separate from mere "accessibility" to the universal mail service though it complements it.

The conditions for accessibility to the universal service are outlined in Article 3 of the 1997 Directive, which stipulates that Member States shall take steps to ensure that the density of the points of contact and of the access points takes account of the needs of users, and are detailed in the presentation of the postal sector's legal and regulatory framework (6).

This spatial planning and development mission is based on La Poste's postal activities in the competitive sector, over and above its strictly universal service obligations, and even on the overall activities (including financial activities) La Poste exercises by virtue of Article 2 of the 1990 Law. It is in this spirit that the Law provides for account to be taken of the distance and duration of access to the local service provided in the contact-point network rather than to the postal service in the narrowest sense.

Thus, the implementation and monitoring of this spatial planning and development mission do not come within the purview of postal regulation, for which ARCEP would be responsible.

Some of the implementation procedures are already provided for in the plan contract (7) between the State and La Poste, and further procedures are to be specified in the implementation decrees.

Besides formally establishing the existence of this spatial planning and development mission, the Law on regulation of postal activities includes the following provisions:

- formulation of the definition of the accessibility rules for the public postal network which, unless exceptional circumstances apply, cannot allow more than 10% of the population of a "département" to be further than five kilometres and more than a twenty-minute car journey (under the traffic conditions prevailing in the area) from the nearest La Poste contact points;

- the mapping of these spatial planning contact points and their installation criteria are to be defined locally by the regional committees in charge of postal presence (CDPPT); this involves determining the contact-point network development which is required (half of the contact points account for 90% of turnover, and 20% of the contact points operate for less than an hour a day.)

- the local tax relief (8) from which La Poste benefits is earmarked for its funding and paid into an equalization fund with procedures defined by decree.

Adjustment of the postal liability system

The Law has changed La Poste's current liability in respect of postal items (Article L.7 of the Post and Electronic Communications Code), extending the scope of its liability in the event of loss or damage to all services for which adequate proof of posting and delivery is provided.

Adjusting the liability system is complex because it has to take account of two objectives:

- defining the conditions for establishing proof of posting (scanning, issue of a certificate of posting, etc.).It is difficult to keep track of items posted in a letter box unless the sender has taken specific action in this regard. Naturally, this difficulty becomes more relevant if the item is lost rather than damaged;

- extending the new system to all La Poste's services in the competitive area, as part of establishing equitable working conditions for all operators. Here, the difficulty lies in limiting the field of application of this specific system.

Regarding possible delays in the delivery of postal items, the new Code Article L.8 provides for the invoking of postal service provider liability if the provider has committed to time-certain delivery.

Moreover, a Council of State decree will set the indemnity ceilings bearing in mind the type of item and the postage tariffs.

Creation of a postal credit business

Article 16 of the Law authorizes the Post to grant real-estate loans without prior savings or consumer credits under conditions which ensure fair competition with credit institutions that already provide such services.

In particular, the French Parliament debated the procedures for transferring to the postal credit establishment (ECP = Etablissement de crédit postal) assets, rights and obligations linked to La Poste's financial services: relations with the Caisse des dépôts et consignations (Consignments and Loans Fund), date of transfer (1 January 2006), assessment by the Court of Accounts of the newly created organization, of how this ECP operates and its relations with the other businesses in the La Poste Group. The Parliament also examined the social aspects of creating the ECP and specified the conditions under which it could use La Poste staff.

Licensed postal service operators (outside the monopoly)

 To access the list of licensed operators: click here

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(1) The Law also contains important provisions in these two areas. In effect, it recasts the legal framework of the financial services by creating a La Poste subsidiary with credit institution status. With respect to spatial planning and development, it defines the rules for accessibility to the La Poste contact-point network.
(2) Article 25 of the Law of 25 June 1999 on Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development designates La Poste as the provider of the postal universal service in France.
(3) Such as items of correspondence weighing more than 100g, for instance.
(4) They will be specified in an implementation decree.
(5) Like the public press transport service.
(6) Minimum coverage of the territory with letter boxes for collections and contact points to meet the needs of universal mail service users (e.g. posting and collection of registered items and parcels, lodging of complaints/inquiries, etc).
(7) Thus, the plan contract signed in January 2004 provided for the creation of a national territorial compensation fund to finance La Poste's presence over and above that incumbent on La Poste solely under the head of its accessibility obligations in connection with the universal service.
(8) 153 million EUR for 2003.

Sector players

- Regulators of the 25 Member States

* A = None; B = Telecoms ; C = Electricity ; D = Water ; E = Gas ; F = Railways; G = Other

- Other regulators

- Traditional operators

- Professional associations and trade unions in France and Europe

- Official websites

- Miscellaneous