Postai fogyasztók az Európai Unióban és a helyi piacokon az egyetemes szolgáltatások felhasználójától a digitális postai szolgáltatás felhasználójáig

Protection of postal service users is strongly intertwined with the concept of universal service in postal services. This is partly due to the fact that universal service (US) is deep-rooted in EU law of postal services, more than in any other areas of EU law in regulated market. The concept of US is grounded on the idea that a minimum set of services of specified quality which must be available and affordable for all users in all Member States. As a result, EU law concerning postal consumers is rooted on two groups of legal provisions: the rules regulating universal service provision and the provisions requiring Member States to establish transparent, simple and inexpensive procedures for dispute settlements.
Accordingly, the relationship between US and consumer protection is a fundamental area of EU law concerning postal consumers. At the same time, this relationship is a fragmented area of EU law in general, and EU postal services law in specific. The relationship between consumer protection and universal service is, in fact, an under-researched area in EU law studies.
This fragmentation has further increased as a result of the emerging disconnection between the EU (and national) legal framework of postal services and the technological and economic changes in the postal market due to increased digitalization and the rise of electronic communications. Accordingly, analyzing the fragmented relationship between US and consumer rules is key to answer the fundamental question of who the postal consumer is and which EU rules have tangible effects for her legal position. In view of the above, the proposed paper will focus on the following research question:
How does EU law facilitate the different (vulnerable and the active) consumers in the digital postal market?
The paper also includes a brief overview of two local markets, the Dutch and the Hungarian postal services market, where very different developments have taken place in the last years. In the Netherlands digitalization has been among the highest in the EU and the government is planning to further deregulate the market by narrowing down the US regulation. The Hungarian market is highly regulated, liberalization has been held back and the state’s role has been rather increased in the last few years.