I last wrote to you on Explanatory Memorandum 14357/06 on 22 December 2006[14] with an undertaking to update your Committee on further negotiations.

  The postal services dossier made substantive progress under the German Presidency of the European Council during the first half of 2007, but a consensus was not achieved on the date for full liberalisation of the postal sector.

  Parallel discussions in the European Parliament resulted in a decisive vote in plenary on 11 July, with 512 votes in favour and 155 against, for:

—  A two year derogation from the Commission proposal of January 2009 for full market opening.

—  A further two year derogation for both 2004 and 2007 Accession States, and those countries with either `difficulty topography' or `a large number of islands'.

  A European Council report on the European Parliamentary plenary issued on 18 July 2007, and is attached with this letter for ease of reference.

  The Portuguese Presidency is preparing a Council compromise text for discussion in September, with a view to a First Reading at the Transport Telecoms and Energy Council on 1 October.

  The UK Government continues to make the case in support of postal liberalisation, which is in the interests of consumers of postal services, including SMEs. Both the Netherlands and Germany have committed to fully opening their own domestic markets in 2008, and Finland, Sweden, and the UK have already done so. There is no case for substantive delay for other Members States. I shall update the Committee later in the autumn, following the first reading.

4 September 2007