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The romantic image of the trusty postman, delivering letters to the farthest

游客2023-12-16  9
问题     The romantic image of the trusty postman, delivering letters to the farthest-flung corners of the land, makes the reform of postal services a sensitive subject. This is especially true when the impetus for reform comes from the European Union. This month the European Parliament starts work on a directive, drawn up by the European Conmrission, to remove the last monopolies in postal markets by 2009—the final stage in a slow and laborious liberalisation that began in 1992. Directives in 1997 and 2002 chipped away at the centuries’ old monopolies enjoyed by national operators, and the proposed new law will open the whole market to competition by abolishing the" reserved area"on mail weighing less than 50 grams. But although the legislative wheels are in motion, some countries are as skeptical as ever.
    The commission says it has deliberately pursued postal liberalisation at a slower pace than other market openings. This is partly due to its technical complexity. Unlike in telecoms, post has no physical network to share. Many countries had to create independent regulators from scratch in order to monitor market access and prices. The size of the heavily unionised postal industry also prompted caution. It employs some 5 million people directly and indirectly, and its turnover is roughly 1% of Europe’s combined GDP.
    But arguably the biggest drag on liberalisation is old-fashioned resistance to open markets, plus a dash of reverence for letter writing. One opponent of the 2009 deadline talks of "a noble industry that we want to protect" and lauds the virtues of pen and paper. All postal operators recognise, however, that the epistolary habit has taken a hit from the Internet. With deadening pragmatism, the commission says liberalisation will improve quality and choice and reduce state subsidies.
    Countries that have already opened their markets, such as Sweden and Britain, agree. Since Sweden’s Posten AB was privatised in 1993, prices for business customers have fallen by 30%, though they have risen for consumers. The postal network has been extended, with new outlets in supermarkets and longer opening hours. Proponents of reform argue that Sweden, which has one of the lowest population densities in the EU, disproves the argument that rural countries cannot both have open markets and provide a standard service for everyone.
    But France, Spain, Italy and other countries worry that abolishing the "reserved area" will damage this universal-service obligation. Last month Franois Loos, France’s industry minister, said 2009 was "an indicative date" for competition rather than a firm deadline. A spokesman for PostEurop, a lobby group representing European postal operators, says several countries would prefer a deadline of 2012 at the earliest, with the who]ly implausible argument that more time is needed to researeh the impact of liberalisation.
    The commission knows a delaying tactic when it sees one. Operators have had years to prepare for liber alisation. But some countries, such as Greece and Luxembourg, seem to want to protect their national monopolies at any eost. The attitudes of central European countries are more difficult to predict. Their governments supported the liberal services directive, which favoured their mobile, comparatively cheap workforces, but have expressed doubts about opening protected home markets to competition.
    Incumbents may have less to fear from competition than they think, however.  In countries with open markets, the former monopolists have remained dominant. In Britain the Royal Mail has 96.5% of the mar ket; in Sweden Posten AB has 91.5%. Regulators do not expect big changes in either country. Indeed, some advocates of liberalisation worry that open postal markets will fail to attraet new entrants and that elimi- nating the reserved area will not guarantee competition.
    The debate over market opening is an opportunity to find out what people really want from their postal services and a chance to rethink how they work, says Michael Critelli, the boss of Pitney Bowes, a company that makes postal equipment and software. Some people might, for example, choose to have domestic mail delivered to their offices on weekdays, he suggests.  But such innovations will happen only if national governments can be discouraged from stamping the commission’s proposals "return to sender". [br] Which of the following is NOT true of European countries’ attitude to the reform?
选项 A、Some countries welcome the reform.
B、Some countries play the role of skeptics.
C、Some countries are in a state of indecision.
D、Some countries try to meet the deadline.
答案 D
解析 细节题。根据试题顺序及选项中提到的some eountries定位至提及欧洲各国的第四、五段。第四段首句指出：瑞典、英国等已经开放邮政市场的国家同意这一看法。这一看法是指前文中提到的“自由化将改进(邮政)服务质量，增加服务多样性，并能减少国家补贴”的观点，可见，它们是支持邮政业改革的，[A]符合文意。第五段首句指出：不过，法国、西班牙、意大利和其他一些国家担心取消“专营领域”会不利于履行这一“普及服务”义务。由此可知，一些国家对邮政业改革持怀疑态度，[B]符合文意。第六段最后两句提到中欧国家的态度：他们 的政府拥护自由化指令，可他们对开放受保护的国内市场却又迟疑不决。可见[C]符合文意。第五段末句提到“有好几个国家希望把最后期限最早定到2012年，他们认为需要更多时间来调查自由化的影响”，[D]与此矛盾，故为答案。
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