The Plenary of the European Committee for Postal Regulation (CERP) took place between 22 and 23 May, in Vienna, with 33 countries present and various observers, such as the European Commission (EC), the Universal Postal Union (UPU), PostEurop, the European Express Association (EEA), the European Express Mail Order Trade Association (EMOTA), the FFPI and the Federation of European Direct Marketing (FEDMA).
The four working groups, (UPU Issues, Regulatory Issues, Economic Issues and Standardisation) and the CERP Contact Committees (CERP/ CE and CERP/ European Parliament) reported on the work carried out since the Sofia Plenary, in November 2002.
The EC summarised the current situation on the transposition of Directive 2002/39/EC as well as of the negotiations on the General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). It also gave information on the proposal to charge VAT for postal services.
The UPU informed the meeting of developments that took place during the Postal Operations Council session with the next Union Congress in mind, which will take place in September 2004, in Bucharest, presenting the Congress calendar and pointing out the dates to be kept for the presentation of proposals. The Working Group for UPU Issues also informed the Plenary of developments in some groups of the Administrative Board of the UPU and preparations for the Congress.
