As part of the EU single market strategy adopted in May 2025, a new EU Delivery Act is proposed to replace the Postal Services Directive and the Cross-border Parcels Regulation in Q4 2026. Reform of EU rules on postal services will focus on delivery as a service, ensuring that people and businesses can receive deliveries throughout the EU at affordable prices. This reform will promote fair competition in delivery markets and enhance consumer protection.
The European Commission is preparing a new EU Delivery Act, planned for 2026, to modernise the postal and parcel delivery framework. The initiative responds to major structural shifts in the sector: declining letter volumes, booming e-commerce, and emerging issues in consumer protection, market fairness, and regulatory burden.
The current legal framework comprises the Postal Services Directive (1997, revised in 2002 and 2008) and the Cross-border Parcel Delivery Regulation (2018). The Commission’s evaluations (2021–2024) concluded that, while the legislation remains relevant, several provisions are outdated and increasingly ineffective. Letter mail has fallen sharply, threatening the financial sustainability of the Universal Service Obligation (USO), while parcel volumes are rising rapidly, exposing inconsistencies and gaps in consumer protection and market oversight.
The proposed Delivery Act aims to tackle five interlinked problems:
- Unsustainable financing of universal service, as declining mail volumes make daily delivery requirements and quality standards financially unviable.
- Weak and fragmented consumer complaint systems, poorly adapted to complex e-commerce delivery chains.
- Unequal regulatory treatment, as many parcel operators fall outside the Directive’s scope, undermining a level playing field.
- Cross-border interoperability issues lead to inefficiencies in delivery, tracking, and data exchange.
- Excessive administrative burdens for both regulators and operators due to overlapping data and reporting obligations.
The initiative seeks to maintain affordable and reliable delivery for all EU citizens and businesses, while ensuring fair competition and simplification. Its main objectives are to:
- Safeguard universal access to delivery services in financially sustainable conditions.
- Strengthen consumer protection and complaint handling.
- Ensure a fair and competitive internal market for delivery providers.
- Improve cross-border delivery efficiency and transparency.
- Reduce administrative complexity and costs for both authorities and operators.
Three policy options are under consideration:
- Option 1 (Limited review): update the existing Directive to improve flexibility and definitions, without revising the parcel regulation.
- Option 2 (Wider review): revise and possibly merge the Directive and Regulation, harmonising tariffs, licensing, and complaints procedures.
- Option 3 (New scope): Create a unified EU Delivery Act that focuses on all goods delivery (including letters), ensuring consistent consumer protection, interoperability of tracking systems, and simpler regulation across Member States.
Expected impacts include lower universal service costs, enhanced competition, improved consumer trust, and reduced environmental footprint through fewer delivery trips. The reform could particularly benefit SMEs, which account for 31% of EU e-commerce turnover, by reducing cross-border delivery costs and barriers.
A comprehensive impact assessment and public consultation (lasting 12 weeks and conducted in all EU languages) will inform the final proposal, ensuring broad participation from citizens, operators, SMEs, regulators, and trade unions before submission in late 2026.
Read the report on the future of the EU postal market here.
Source: EU