18th Königswinter Postal Seminar

The continuing rise of e-commerce packets and the decline of traditional mail volume are calling for change in postal markets. Postal operators are adapting their operations and seeking efficiency gains in response to volume decline. At the same time, they are improving service levels for e-commerce deliveries. As markets change, postal legislation is being modernised in several European countries, and the European Commission has begun a process to evaluate the Postal Services Directive.

International e-commerce continues to be a major area of growth in the postal market. With the UPU's Extraordinary Congress, 2019 has been an exceptionally important year for international postal services. While reform of the UPU's terminal dues system has been agreed, the next big challenge to this market are changes in customs procedures that will become effective in 2021 in the EU.

WIK's 18th Königswinter Postal Seminar will provide a forum for discussing recent developments in the postal market, and current challenges for operators, policy-makers, regulators, and customs authorities. We are pleased to invite you to participate in this seminar. It will take place on 9-10 December 2019 at Hirschburg castle in the hills of Königswinter (near Bonn).

Our programme includes presentations by high-level speakers from postal operators, regulators, and international organisations who will share with you their views, experience, and insights.

Programme:

	Monday, December 9
12:00 Uhr	Welcome & Registration
12:30 - 13:30 Uhr	Lunch
	Session 1: International mail markets & UPU
	Chair: Alex Dieke, Director and Head of Department, WIK
13:30 - 14:10 Uhr	Results of the 2019 UPU Congress & the state of international mail markets Siva Somasundram, Director, Policy, Regulations and Markets, UPU
14:10 - 14:50 Uhr	From Geneva to Abidjan: The next hot issues at the UPU Jack Hamande, Member of the Council, BIPT
14:50 - 15:30 Uhr	International mail: market trends, opportunities, and challenges in Spain Julio Pazo Freire, International Business Director, Correos
15:30 - 16:00 Uhr	Coffee Break
	Session 2: Overcoming borders: Customs and VAT on postal imports
	Chair: James I. Campbell Jr., Attorney and Independent Consultant
16:00 - 16:40 Uhr	EU customs procedures and import VAT: On the way to 2021 Ágnes Nagy, Policy officer, DG TAXUD, European Commission
16:40 - 17:20 Uhr	EU customs procedures and import VAT: On the way to 2021 Anders Hildingsson, Senior Analyst, Digitalisation Department, PTS
19:30 Uhr	Reception at Hirschburg
20:00 Uhr	Dinner
	Tuesday, December 10
	Session 3: Improving efficiency in delivery
	Chair: Iris Henseler-Unger, General Manager and Director, WIK
09:00 - 09:40 Uhr	Delivery letter and parcels in Europe: Trends & challenges in postal operations Antonia Niederprüm, Senior Economist, WIK
09:40 - 10:20 Uhr	Procurement of universal services in Finland Päivi Rokkanen, Senior Legal Counsel, Posti Ltd
10:20 - 11:00 Uhr	Adapting to changing market conditions - alternate day delivery in Norway Kristin Bergum, Senior Vice President International and regulatory affairs, Posten Norge AS
11:00 - 11:30 Uhr	Coffee Break
	Session 4: Experience from regulators
	Chair: Antonia Niederprüm, Senior Economist, WIK
11:30 - 11:10 Uhr	Postal service in Spain: Market trends and regulatory challenges Teresa Sánchez Armas, Head of the Postal Sector Unit, CNMC (Spain)
12:10 - 12:50 Uhr	What has been the experience of giving Royal Mail more commercial freedom? Marina Gibbs, Competition Policy Director, Ofcom (UK)
12:50 - 14:00 Uhr	Lunch
	Session 5: Future directions for postal regulation
	Chair: Sonja Thiele, Senior Economist, WIK
14:00 - 14:40 Uhr	Reforming the Postal Act in Germany Daniel Eimer, Deputy head of division, Telecommunications and postal law, Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (Germany)
14:40 - 15:20 Uhr	NRA experience with implementing the Postal Directive Rita Filipe Silva, Regulatory Specialist, ANACOM & Coordinator of ERGP Presidency
15:20 - 15:30 Uhr	Concluding Remarks Alex Dieke, Director and Head of Department, WIK
15:30 Uhr	Coffee / Seminar ends

 

You will find the full list of speakers on our workshop programme: https://www.wik.org/fileadmin/Konferenzbeitraege/2019/18th_Koenigswinter_Seminar/Programme.pdf

Our ambition in organising this seminar is to have intense discussion among all participants: regulators and operators, e-retailers and trade associations, researchers and policy-makers. The number of participants is limited to 50, and there will be ample time for discussion.

We would be delighted to welcome you to our Postal Seminar. Please register before 22 November 2019. We will accept registrations on a first come, first served basis. To register, please use our registration form: https://www.wik.org/fileadmin/Konferenzbeitraege/2019/18th_Koenigswinter_Seminar/Registration.pdf

Accommodation during the seminar is available at Hirschburg castle, the seminar venue. To reserve your room, please use this form: https://www.wik.org/fileadmin/Konferenzbeitraege/2019/18th_Koenigswinter_Seminar/Hotel_Registration.pdf

Location:

Hirschburg - Vodafone GmbH’s seminar and convention centre - Hirschburg 1 - 53639 Königswinter

If you need travel information to Königswinter, please consult: https://www.wik.org/fileadmin/Konferenzbeitraege/2019/18th_Koenigswinter_Seminar/Travel_Information.pdf

Do not hesitate to contact me for any questions about the seminar. Please contact Tamara Orlowski (postal-seminar@wik.org, tel +49 2224 922521) for questions concerning registration, accommodation, transfer, and other practical information.

Best regards
Alex Dieke