Warsaw hosted last 5-6 September a meeting of the CERP working group dedicated to European coordination for issues concerning the Universal Postal Union (WG UPU). On the second morning WG UPU held a joint meeting with the equivalent group from PostEurop, the association of European postal operators.
The focus was mainly on preparing for the 3rd Extraordinary UPU Congress (Geneva, 24-26 September), called to revise the terminal charges system for format E mailings, following the October 2018 announcement by the United States of America that it intended to leave the UPU, effective in October 2019, if the UPU payment system, especially for such mail, did not switch to being based on the principle of self-declared rates.
The increasing mail flows generated by e-commerce in recent years mostly involve format E mailings. The USA’s eventual exit from the UPU would cause a disruption in the global postal network, especially because that county is the biggest overall postal traffic generator (considering incoming and outgoing flows) and is one of the countries that most contribute to the UPU’s work.
The UPU secretariat gave a presentation about the congress, mainly from a more organisational and logistical standpoint, as Norway was to later give a presentation on various proposals to change the payment system formally submitted for the congress to discuss and decide on, resulting from work within the UPU from October 2018 to April 2019.
The most conservative proposal (option A) only aims to speed up the annual rate increases, while at the other end is a proposal from the USA (option B) to introduce self-declared rates. There is also an intermediate option C resulting from an attempt to reconcile the two previous proposals, envisaging a phased and controlled introduction of self-declared rates. Several proposals to amend option C were also submitted, namely one from the USA (which would make its continuation in the UPU viable) to create an exception so that country could begin self-declaring rates in 2020.
This meeting also served to share information about intense work on the sidelines meant to develop a proposal that could eventually serve as basis for a consensus decision at the congress. This was generally acknowledged to be the only way the congress could achieve any result, because if the various proposals were debated during its sessions there would probably not be enough time to reach an agreement, especially bearing in mind problems that might be posed by the UPU’s rules of procedure and decisions. The countries were strongly urged to get involved and facilitate that prior understanding.
In this regard, Germany was negotiating with the various partners involved (particularly the USA and European countries, but also with other regions and key countries) a possible consensus solution which, based on option C, added parts of various proposals to modify option C, including the aforementioned one from the USA. But some aspects still engendered different positions and the discussions were expected to continue until the congress.
Germany’s initiative was generally welcomed, especially regarding the approach to adding elements from various proposals and on the above understanding that there should be work behind the scenes before the congress.
The countries basically manifested positions seeking a solution that garners ample support, preferably consensus, and avoids an American exit from the UPU.
The next meeting, on final coordination, was scheduled for 23 September, just before the congress.
