The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology said the draft Law on Post Office corresponds to the European Commission’s Postal Services Directive. Such a statement was made after members of the Association of Independent Press said the bill does not agree with the European Directive. According to the Association’s members, the bill, which was passed by Parliament in the first reading at the end of last December, excludes the distribution of books, catalogues, newspapers and other publications, from the universal postal service, IPN service.
“We consider that the concerns stated by the Association of Independent Press as regards the non-compliance of the bill with the European Directive, are groundless. The draft Law on Post Office, at different formulation stages, was subject to a number of amendments suggested by European and national experts so as to strictly adjust its provisions to those of the European Commission’s Directive, including the list of services included in the universal postal service to which the Association makes reference,” it is said in a press release of the ICT Ministry.
Moreover, changes were made to the law following the European Commission’s recommendations over the bill on the post office, which say that the law approximates rather well the services from the European Directive, covering all its elements.
At the same time, the Ministry realizes the problems faced in the distribution of publications by subscription and retail sale, given that this activity generates essential losses to the state-run company Moldova’s Post Office. The Ministry’s data show that in 2015 alone the company sustained losses of 10.9 million lei wen providing this service. This year the losses are expected to come to 12 million lei. The losses are mainly due to the tariffs that are lower than the costs.
The Ministry suggests remedying the situation by adjusting the tariffs to the real costs.
