“Having said this, a self-sustaining postal sector that operates to the highest standards, admittedly poses a significant challenge, not only to those running the respective services, but also to the policy makers, regulatory bodies, consumer groups and all those who have an interest in its continued well-being. On the one hand, postal operators must strive, in the face of an increasingly challenging environment, to re-create their business whilst providing a service that conforms to the highest possible standards of efficiency and quality,” Minister Galea told the congress.

Mr Galea said that Malta’s progress towards liberalisation has been more recent and the tempo has accelerated in line with Malta’s accession into the European Union. “We have not been alone in realising the benefits to be reaped from such a transformation. Many other countries are doing away with the monopolistic structures that had been the sacred cows of twentieth century utility management. This is not to mean that these organisations are on their way to being dismantled. They have played – and will still play – an essential role in the development of the respective national milieux in which they operate.

“The new paradigm aims at introducing a competitive environment in order to ensure that these organisations do not become

inadvertently complacent in their behaviour. Ultimately, the overall fallout on the economy and the individual consumer will be a beneficial one – efficient delivery at competitive prices,” Minister Galea added.

“Government has embarked upon the devolution of the three-fold role of government as operator, policy-maker and regulator. The three roles are now distinct and reside within different organisational and institutional players.

“In the case of postal services, the ministry for competitiveness and communication has retained the role of policy maker for the sector. Maltapost is the incumbent operator and no longer retains a total monopoly on the market. The Malta Communications Authority is the arbiter that ensures that competition in the postal sector comes about in a way that is fair and just and that the public gets the best deal out of the equation.”

The Malta Communications Authority was designated as the National Regulatory Authority for the postal sector on 1 June 2003, when the EU Postal Service Directive was transposed into national law by the Postal Services Act.

The Postal Directive established a harmonised regulatory framework for postal services throughout the EU targeted at ensuring an affordable service to the public, securing improvements in the quality of service provided and gradually opening up the postal market to competition.

There is, however, the possibility that competition in postal services may not come about to the extent that the mechanisms of the market automatically do away with monopolistic behaviour. A national regulatory authority such as the Malta Communications Authority has a two-fold mandate with respect to ensuring that competition has the chance to grow and, where competition is lacking, that adequate safeguards exist to ensure that the consumer still gets adequate value for money.

Minister Galea said that in the coming months, the Malta Communications Authority will also be working with Maltapost to establish a mechanism by which prices are to be controlled over time. One approach that is being considered is the so-called “price cap” system.

“By the end of this year, therefore, we should have the key elements of the regulatory framework in place. This in itself should be one enabler to a better, more efficient quality service on the part of the universal service provider. Ultimately, however, it takes the players on the field to bring to fruition real and lasting results.

“In this respect I consider the Maltese situation as being an ideal one, in that Maltapost has, on its own accord, been proactive in aiming at bettering its performance from an efficiency and quality of service standpoint. Maltapost has shown itself willing, and able, to provide a quality service in a new, more complex milieu,” Mr Galea said.