The legislative package, provisionally named the EU Delivery Act, was originally included in the Commission's work program for 2026. A draft legislative proposal was expected to be presented after the summer of this year. However, officials within the EU now state that the legislative work has been postponed until 2027.
The reform aims to merge two existing regulations into one: the postal services directive and the rules for cross-border parcel deliveries. The purpose is to create a common system that reflects today's market.
When the current rules were updated in 2008, postal networks were largely financed by letter volumes. At that time, volumes were stable, national postal operators had stronger protection, and there were economic conditions to maintain mail delivery to all households.
Since then, invoices and official mail have been digitized, in parallel with the establishment of e-commerce on a larger scale. Today, around 12 million parcel deliveries are handled daily in Europe, and the market is expected to continue to grow as private delivery companies take a larger market share.