The ACCORD II Programme

The ACCORD II Programme in a nutshell 

Programme area:  Target 1: Quality of service, Target 2: Financial & cost accounting laid out in Directive 97/67/EC, Target 3: Adoption by postal staff of a culture of customer awareness, marketing and sales, Target 4: A better understanding of the role played by regulators in the new postal market, Target 5: Adoption of efficient planning and management tools and methods.
Status: Ongoing
Duration: 2003- Ongoing

Summary

In September 1998, an Accord was signed between PostEurop and Member postal operators in the European Union accession countries. The Accord aimed primarily at improving quality of service in those countries prior to their entry into the European Union and to achieve compliance with the quality standards set out for the EU Member States.

It contained a series of measures to which those postal operators committed themselves, both individually and on the basis of harmonized actions at the European and national level. The initiative has also received the support of other interested organizations including the European Commission, the UPU, CERP and IPC.

In 2003, with European Union enlargement fast approaching and in light of the revised EU Directive 2002/39/EC, PostEurop launched a new Accord (ACCORD II) to encourage and facilitate compliance with the postal directives.

 The concept of Accord II is to encourage current postal operators and members of the EU and EEA to support PostEurop Members within the accession countries, guided by two principles:

• Group A signatories commit their organisations to achieve the five targets (see above: Programme area) included in the Accord II, in order to facilitate achievement at a national level of the standards required by the Postal Directive
• Group B signatories commit their organisations to support Group A signatories in achieving the five targets by providing practical assistance and projects to be agreed between the participants, and especially through twinning activities.

Operators involved

•  Group A signatories: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, FYROM, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Turkey.
• Group B signatories: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom.

 Updated on 24 May 2013