PostEurop welcomes the call for input regarding the ERGP Work Programme 2025. This is the  opportunity to make a contribution to ERGP’s work and to bring out the main issues to tackle in  the postal sector. The postal sector still finds itself in volatile times in which volumes are negatively  impacted by the worldwide macroeconomic and geopolitical developments, resulting in record-high  inflation and decreasing consumer trust. Despite these turbulent times, we believe that the main  suggestions and input we delivered to last year’s ERGP Work Programme are still very valid given  the current challenges. 

We therefore want to take this opportunity to briefly reiterate our main points and refer for further  background to last year’s input to the ERGP Work Programme 2024: 

• PostEurop believes ERGP should refocus its priorities for this new term and bring the issue of  the sustainability of the provision of the universal service to the core of its agenda, in line with  its mission according to the applicable regulatory framework. 

• ERGP should look at the emerging business models and assess how to ensure a level playing  field vis-à-vis new market players. 

• PostEurop Members are committed to environmental sustainability – and fully aligned with the  UN Sustainable Development Goals on resource efficiency, procurement and waste  management and air quality among others. As operators are continuously adapting their  business models in order to further reduce their environmental footprint, we do believe it could  be mutually beneficial to organise a meeting in 2024 where the sector can present its  expertise and their developments and challenges in making our businesses more  sustainable. We regret that we were not invited to actively contribute to the ERGP sustainability  meeting that took place in November last year, and that there was no possibility to attend  remotely. We believe that a dialogue between business experts and the ERGP on this topic could  be mutually beneficial and we are at your disposal if you may wish to organise such an event. 

In addition to the points above:  

• We want to raise awareness of the ever-growing administrative and financial burden stemming  from an ever-growing regulatory burden. We ask the ERGP to look into the impact of the  administrative burden on the sector from sectoral legislation and horizontal legislation in the  areas of transport and sustainability on the efficient functioning of postal operators (required  additional human and increasing costs of compliance cannot subsequently be used in other  areas e.g. for innovation, decreasing environmental impacts, etc.). 

• In this respect, we also want to call on the ERGP to be very selective and prudent in the number of written questionnaires and input that is requested annually to the NRAs but where input  from USPs is needed in order to contribute to ERGP reports. 

Besides the points mentioned above, PostEurop would like to ask ERGP for a more frequent and  systematic communication towards the association in order to allow us to efficiently coordinate  among our members and provide in a timely way the requested contributions to ERGP (e.g. sending  invitations to relevant events, questionnaires to be answered by our members and/or by the  association, etc.).