The CERP working group that focuses on European coordination for Universal Postal Union issues (WG UPU) met last 20-21 March in Copenhagen. The gathering was attended by 15 countries, including Portugal, as well as the European Commission and PostEurop (association of European postal operators) as observers.
The aim was to make an assessment of the UPU Congress held in 2016, regarding the preparation led by WG UPU and the congress’s results (in this case working with the UPU International Bureau (IB), which gave a videoconference presentation).
Another objective was to prepare the April 2017 session of the UPU Council of Administration (CA). The IB also gave a detailed presentation on the same subject, referring to key issues that will be dealt with by the plenary meeting, by each committee (including task forces) and by the ad hoc group on Reform, as well as expected results of that CA session.
The most debated issues included the following: UPU reform; the organisation’s financing; status of the UPU pension fund; preparation and matters to consider at the 2018 intermediate Congress.
The group also discussed the possibility of creating dedicated subgroups (task forces) to coordinate more relevant issues under discussion in the UPU. Some potential topics were identified for this purpose, though at this meeting only one task force on the pension fund was created; it was decided to await results from the next CA session before creating others.
As manager of the CEPT ‘family’ websites, the ECO presented and demonstrated some of the functions of the CERP website available to its members and to participants in its working groups.
Spain also gave a short presentation on preparation of the next CERP plenary meeting, to be held in Madrid in early June, inviting the countries to participate.
Next meetings:
- it was agreed that the group would meet informally during the UPU CA;
- the group’s next regular meeting should take place before the October sessions of the CA/Postal Operations Council, though it has not yet been scheduled because that should be done by the future chair (to be elected at CERP’s June plenary meeting);
- the CERP plenary meeting will be held on 1-2 June in Madrid.
