Dutch government proposes to reduce requirements for the delivery of regular universal service letters
06 October 25
Martin Schraa
PostNL will be allowed to extent the delivery time of regular letters under the universal service obligation (USO) from D+1 to D+2 in 2026 and to D+3 in 2027. The proposal would reduce the quality of service target of 95% to 92% by 2027 while still maintaining the delivery frequency of five times per week. The draft measure followed PostNL’s request to the Dutch government to be relieved from providing the loss-making postal USO.
EU customs authorities struggle to handle e-commerce parcel volumes
25 September 25
Celine Senay
According to a new EU Commission report, European customs authorities are increasingly struggling to carry out controls on products entering the EU from third countries because of growing inbound parcel volumes.
In 2024, customs authorities were able to check the compliance of only 82 out of every million products imported into the EU. The Commission argued that these findings underlined the need to adopt the proposed reform of the customs union.
Report: European courier, express and parcel sector faces a range of labour-related issues
23 September 25
Armen Ghalumyan
Among others, complex subcontracting structures, unprotected workers’ rights, undeclared or underdeclared work, and compliance and enforcement difficulties are common in the sector. A recent report by the European Labour Authority evaluated best practices in several EU member states and provided recommendations to address the identified issues.
Most postal consumers in Poland are unaware of the term “universal postal service”, a survey finds
22 September 25
Monika Kačeriaková
This was among the findings of a 2024 study on the postal service needs of individuals and organisations, published by the Polish postal regulator UKE. Compared to the previous study of 2020, the role of traditional post offices and postmen decreased, while the use of parcel lockers and e-delivery services increased.
EU Timeline
15 September 25
Marianna Mattera
This edition of Cullen International’s EU Timeline highlights key policy and regulatory developments foreseen at EU level until the end of 2025.
Correos to offer new services as part of its public service mission
19 August 25
Carmen Mateas
An amendment of the postal law extended the designation of Correos as the universal postal service provider by another five years, entrusted Correos with the provision of new services of general economic interest and modified the basis for calculating the net cost of the postal universal service. These changes implement the strategic framework for Correos, which was approved in 2024 and which sought to guarantee the universal service provider´s financial stability.