Liberalization of postal market to improve services

The government's plan to liberalize Hungary's postal services aims at ensuring consumers stable and higher-quality services, a state secretary at the Economy Ministry told a conference in Budapest on Friday.

Ábel Garamhegyi said, however, that the government does not want to see massive layoffs at the state-owned Magyar Posta Zrt. A meeting of EU ministers on December 11 confirmed that the EU's postal market would be liberalized from 2009, Garamhegyi said. "The debate over the details continues as to when and in what way the monopoly should end, what 'universal services' means and who should be entrusted to pay for them," he said.
Sweden, Germany, Britain and the Netherlands are getting ready to open up their postal markets unconditionally from 2009, while other EU members, including Hungary, voiced reservations.

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