Post
In coordination with the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) the Federal Network Agency cooperates in the Universal Postal Union (WPV/UPU), the Council of Administration (sovereign and regulatory issues) and the Postal Operations Council (operative execution of the Universal Postal Contract). One major issue that is currently subject of discussion is a basic reformation of the Universal Postal Union. Commission 1 of the Council of Administration (chaired by: Germany) has performed several studies and surveys following the Universal Postal Union Congress of Bucharest in 2004 with the objective to improve all aspects of the work within the Universal Postal Union, including its structure and composition as well as the decision processes within the individual bodies. The studies were mainly intended to adjust the existing organizational structure, particularly in terms of the separation and distribution of governmental, regulatory and operative functions according to the liberalization processes that have already been completed in some of the member states.
The European Committee for Postal Regulation (CERP) works on comparing the regulatory framework conditions for the postal sector in the 48 member states and elaborating proposals for harmonization, if this appears to be adequate and reasonable. The chairman is from the Federal Network Agency. There are currently three working groups with several project groups each. The working group „Politics“ discusses the implementation and application of the European postal regulation, definition, scope and objective of the Universal Service, as well as the sector-specific regulation and opening of postal markets in cooperation with the Agency. The project group „Cost Accounting and Price Control“ of the working group „Economics“ is chaired by the Federal Network Agency. It has elaborated a recommendation on cost accounting that is currently being revised with the objective to come up to the changed framework conditions in the future liberalized postal markets. A project group „Statistics“ was set up on request of the European Commission in the working group „Monitoring Group / Market Data“ to perform statistical surveys in the postal sector. The Federal Network Agency played a decisive role in elaborating the framework conditions for these surveys. The Agency also cooperates in the project group „Consumer Issues“ that documents various regulatory approaches in terms of consumer protection as well as general rights of the regulatory authorities with regard to postal user relations.
The Technical Committee on Postal Services (CEN/TC331) of the European Committee for Standardization(CEN) develops standards in the postal sector that, in addition to purely operationally/logistically oriented projects, also include the fields of quality measurement. The working group CEN/TC331/WG1 for the field of developing quality measurement procedures relevant for regulation is headed by the Federal Network Agency. The work in this working group includes the revision of the standard for measuring the transit time for single piece priority mail and first class mail (EN 13850) as well as the revision of the standard that governs the handling of claims and inquiries (EN 14012).