EU clears final hurdle to postal privatisation- keith Lee

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European Union clears final hurdle to postal privatisation
By Keith Lee

from www.wsws.org

1 November 2007
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The European Union has cleared the final hurdle to full competition in the 88 billion euro postal market by 2011. The agreement amongst Europe’s postal carriers will allow any private operator to carry mail under 50 grams. Only three countries—Sweden, Finland and the United Kingdom—have been fully liberalised.

One of the major sticking points over the 2011 deadline was the Universal Service Obligation (USO). Big business has fought long and hard for the abolition of the so-called “reserved area,â€