Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-12-13-Speech-3-024"
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"en.20001213.1.3-024"2
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"Madam President, Commissioner, the internal market is said to have been established many years ago within the European Union. Despite this, protectionism is still very much alive. This is certainly the case within the postal sector. While electronic communication, such as e-mail, has enjoyed a real boom, former state monopolies are mainly turning inward. A gradual introduction of competition within the post is to be welcomed so as to acknowledge its social function. This is why the European Commission has not suggested liberalising all postal services as a second step in the process. According to Commissioner Bolkestein’s proposal, more than two thirds still remains in the hands of monopolies. But this is not enough for a dozen or so national postal companies. Backed by a massive lobby, they managed to persuade the majority of this House to adopt an even more conservative stance. It is exactly those groups which like to portray themselves as progressive who are putting the brakes on. When I then hear that the monopolists are opposed to this idea, it is like asking a turkey how it feels about Christmas dinner. The monopolists are combing the markets and buying up private companies with funds generated by the monopoly. Experience in Sweden and the Netherlands, among others, has taught us that the objections to a free postal market are unfounded. There are no remote addresses which are being excluded and employment will recover after the necessary efficiency operations. The worst decision which the European Parliament could make this week would be to abandon an end date for the second phase. If the step which the European Parliament now wants to take is far too small, let us then at least ensure that we pick up the thread in a couple of years’ time. In a climate of honest competition, monopolists can show what they are made of."@en1
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