MEPs delay postal reform

The European Parliament voted yesterday in favour of delaying the full liberalisation of postal markets across the 27 member states by two years.

MEPs voted by 512 votes to 155 not to end the monopolies on the delivery of letters weighing up to 50 grams until January 1st, 2011, two years later than the European Commission had proposed.

The parliament has a joint say on the reform and a common position with the EU's 27 member states will now have to be agreed before the end of the year.

"We hope the council [ of ministers] will follow the parliament's line on this," said Markus Ferber, the German centre-right lawmaker who steered the measure through the parliament.

Britain and Sweden are already fully liberalised, while Germany and the Netherlands are due to follow suit in 2008. Ireland is due to open up its postal market by the original deadline of 2009.

It is not clear if the Government will seek to continue to meet this deadline. A spokesman for Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan said he would be "reflecting on the decision reached by [ the EU] parliament".

More than 60 per cent of the Irish postal market is open to full competition. An Post retains a monopoly on letters weighing up to 50 grams. It said the timetable for liberalisation was a matter for Government and the EU. "We are preparing for full competition, be it in 2009 or 2011."