The Government has extended the designation of Correos as an operator to provide the universal postal service (SPU) in Spain until 2030. The Executive has included this designation, as well as that of Service of General Economic Interest (SIEG), in the royal decree law of measures urgent measures that were approved this Monday in the last Council of Ministers of the year.
The universal postal service is the set of postal services that must be guaranteed permanently throughout the territory, with certain quality standards and at affordable prices for users. Correos receives compensation for the additional cost of meeting these service obligations. The SPU includes national and cross-border shipments, ordinary and certified, of postcards and letters up to 2 kilograms in weight, and of postal packages up to 20 kilograms.
According to the UGT union, the measure approved by the Government establishes “fairer treatment” in the financing of the SPU. In a statement, the union points out that, “after five years of fighting against an attempt to dismantle Correos, today a new stage begins with the promotion of a new Postal Operator model in Spain.” In his opinion, the approved measures represent a “praiseworthy rectification” of the Executive regarding the line followed in the last five years. In this regard, UGT recognizes the role played by the new president of Correos,
The plan, which affects the activity of Correos in Spain (it also has activity in Portugal), establishes three priorities: the modernization of the universal postal service, whose provision has been criticized by the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC); the promotion of the parcel business, with the aim of it representing more than 30% of the group’s turnover; and the promotion of new avenues of income. At this point, the provision of Services of General Economic Interest (SIEG) of the administration will be key, which Correos will begin to assume to compensate for the decline of the classic postal business. This will allow the company to provide certain activities “that constitute a general public benefit” and are not being provided by the market.
New postal rates
On the other hand, Correos will increase the price of the stamps necessary for sending standardized letters and postcards weighing up to twenty grams to national destinations by 8.54% for next year 2025, at the same time as the blue package of Less than a kilo of weight will increase by 3.85%. This is the price proposal sent by the public postal operator to the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC), an organization that has resolved that these prices for individuals “do not compromise the principle of affordability and comply with the principles of transparency , non-discrimination and orientation to the real costs of providing the service.”
In any case, these increases are above the current inflation, which in the last available data for November amounted to 2.4% in its interannual rate, although in Spain shipping prices are still well below the European average (already in 2023 it was 1.33 euros). In Spain, sending an ordinary national letter of less than 20 grams will cost 0.89 euros starting next January 1, 7 cents more than in 2024, the year in which the price rose 4%. Previously, in 2023, it increased another 4%, 7% in 2022, 7.7% in 2021, 8.3% in 2020, 9% in 2019, 10% in 2018, 11.1% in 2017, 7.14% in 2016 and 10.5% in 2015, when it cost 0.42 euros.
For its part, the certified letter of less than 20 grams will cost 5.29 euros, 8.62% more; the ordinary international letter less than 20 grams, 1.85 euros, 8.82% more; and the international certified letter of the same weight, 6.8 euros, 4.62% more, in these last two cases only if the destination is Europe, including Greenland (excluding Albania, Armenia, Bosnia, Cyprus, Georgia, Malta, Moldova and Russia). As for the packages, for those of less than one kilo you will pay 16.2 euros, 3.85% more, and for those of more than 20 kilos you will pay 45.6 euros, only 1.45% more. The international package of less than 5 kilos will cost 47.2 euros, 2.05% more, if sent to Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Gibraltar, Greece, the Bay of Guernsey, Ireland, Italy, Island of Jersey, Luxembourg, Monaco, Norway, Netherlands, Portugal, United Kingdom, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and Vatican.
