Povzetek: Prispevek obravnava regulacijo trga poštnih storitev v luči spremenjenih tržnih razmer. Uvodni predstavitvi sledi poglavje, ki prikazuje vsebinski oris regulacije v EU. Tretje poglavje temeljne koncepte problematizira z vidika tržnih trendov. Po dvajsetih letih od sprejema (prve) Direktive je očitno, da je konkurenca v številnih državah članicah relativno šibko razvita na trgu pisem in relativno dobro razvita na trgu paketov. Dosedanje izkušnje z izvajanjem Direktive v praksi in korenite spremembe trga dajejo legitimnost vprašanju: Ali Direktiva še ustreza svojemu namenu? Ker obseg tega prispevka ne omogoča celovite obravnave zastavljenega vprašanja, se osredotoča le na nekatere vidike - opredelitev univerzalne storitve, njene kakovosti in financiranja, razumevanje tarifnih načel in regulacija dostopa do omrežja.

Ključne besede: univerzalna poštna storitev, dostop do poštnega omrežja, tarifna načela, nediskriminacija, kompenzacijski sklad

Title: Regulation and Liberalisation of the Postal Services Market

Abstract: This paper addresses regulation of the postal services market in the light of the changing market conditions. Introduction to the topic is followed by the second chapter, which describes the EU regulatory framework. The third chapter challenges key concepts of postal regulation from the perspective of the changing market conditions. 20 years after adoption of the first Directive, it is evident that competition is, on the one hand, weak in the letter market and, on the other hand, well developed in the parcel market. The changing market and years of experiences with the Directive legitimise the following question: Is the Directive still fit for its purpose? Since the scope of the paper does not allow a comprehensive approach, only fragments of the selected contemporary issues are addressed - definition of the universal service, its quality and financing, understanding of the tariff principles and access to the network.

Keywords: universal postal service, access to the postal network, tariff principles, non-discrimination, compensation fund