It is rare for government to pause during preparation of a new economic measure to consider the principles of good governance. Nonetheless, the craft of governance is fundamental to successful implementation of economic and social policies. In the last several years, the European Union has launched several initiatives to improve governmental processes in the Community. Of particular relevance to this study is a pioneering report on administrative practice by a group of experts established by European ministers of public administration and chaired by an official of the French government, Dieudonné Mandelkern.
This study represents an extension of these efforts to the task of regulating postal services in Europe. It considers how, in light of the experience of several years of reform and a flowing tide of technological change, governmental policies can be implemented efficiently and effectively in the postal sector.
This study offers no conclusions as to precisely what those governmental policies should be. The ‘new regulatory model’ described in the report illustrates the application of sound regulatory principles to accomplishing the objectives of current Community policy. In the final chapter, we consider how this regulatory model could be modified to accommodate other policy objectives. Choosing among possible policy objectives is the task of policy makers.
What remains is the proposition—the central thesis of this study—that sound regulatory principles are fundamentally important because, over a wide range of policy objectives, attention to the principles of sound regulation can ease the burden of regulation on postal operators, protect the integrity of government, and, ultimately, enhance the quality of services delivered to the users of postal services.
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