On October 1st and 2nd, 2007, the Council of European Ministers of transport, telecommunications and energy will meet in Luxemburg to decide on the new project of European directive which opens totally postal services to competition, the project already adopted by the European Parliament on July 11th of this year.

If this directive is adopted by the Coucil, it will be definitive; if it is not adopted, it will be sent back to the opinion of the European Parliament. The undersigned consider inadmissible this directive, for the following reasons:

1. It will discriminate the immense majority of individual users. Indeed, as postal services will be subjected to competition, they will have to become profitable. Consequently the prices will increase sensibly, the number of the distributions will be reduced, the services to customers will decrease and numerous post offices will close.

2. The post offices, becoming companies, are massively going to eliminate jobs and to create more and more precarious jobs with low salaries.

3. As "big" customers will be monopolized by the big rival companies, the company of the P&T will have only the small customers and thus an deficitary service . From then on, only subsidies by the State or the explosion of the prices of stamps will allow to keep a form of universal service.

4. The social role of mailmen, while they are often the only daily link for the old and isolated persons, will be annihilated, or even mailmen will disappear.

5. The undersigned consider that Luxemburg does not just have to see granted a period until 2013 to apply this new directive, but that this one is useless and unacceptable.

They call up to a popular and labour-union mobilization against its adoption.

Signataires: Kirsch Eugène, président Bréifdréiergewerkschaft; Angel Marc, député; Braz Félix, député; Fayot Ben, député; Hencks Raymond, vice-président Conseil économique et social; Jost Frank, déi Lénk; Klein Jean-Pierre, député-Maire; Kox Henri, député; Reding Jean-Claude, président OGB-L; Robert Goebbels, député européen; Schreiner Roland, député-Maire; Turmes Claude, député européen; Braz Felix, député; Urbany Serge, ancien député; Walisch Tania, présidente ATTAC-Luxembourg; Wennmacher Nico, président FNCTTFEL-Landesverband. (liste to be completed)