The annual session of the Advisory and Executive Council (CCE) of the Postal Union of the Americas, Spain and Portugal (UPAEP) was held last 23-25 March in Montevideo, where the organisation is based. The gathering was preceded on 21-22 March by meetings of the working groups (WGs), the Postal Regulation Forum and the Market Forum and the meeting on Operative Aspects. The occasion served to officially celebrate the UPAEP's centennial, with an opening ceremony and commemorative plaque and the issue of a first-day cover alluding to the 100th anniversary.
The Regulation Forum saw the presentation of postal regulation experiences in China and Ecuador and also in the European Union, due to the speech by the European Commission's director of postal services, Kamil Kiljanski. In the Market Forum, a long list of subjects routinely affecting postal operations were debated.
The Union's financial and personnel issues were once again the main topic on the CCE agenda. The 2011 session of the CCE approved the creation of an ad hoc group to study and assess the UPAEP budget and to present at CCE'12 measures to streamline resources so that the UPAEP's liquidity can be increased without forcing member countries to increase their financial contribution.
Lastly, topics involving technical co-operation (another of UPAEP's main activity axes) and strategic planning were discussed.
The 2012 session of the CCE will be held on 26-30 March 2012.
