L 15/14 Official Journal of the European Communities 21. 1. 98 DIRECTIVE 97/67/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 15 December 1997 on common rules for the development of the internal market of Community postal services and the improvement of quality of service THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Articles 57 (2), 66 and 100a thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ('), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (%), Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (%), Having regard to the resolution of the European Par- liament of 22 January 1993 concerning the green paper on the development of the single market for postal ser- vices (%), Having regard to the Council resolution of 7 February 1994 on the development of Community postal ser- vices (%), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189b of the Treaty, in the light of the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee on 7 November 1997 (9, (1)  Whereas measures should be adopted with the aim of establishing the internal market in accordance with Article 7a of the Treaty; whereas this market comprises an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured; (2) Whereas the establishment of the internal market in the postal sector is of proven importance for the economic and social cohesion of the Community, 1 ) OJ C 322, 2. 12. 1995, p. 22, and C 300, 10. 10. 1996, p. 22. ) O] C 174, 17. 6. 1996, p. 41. C 337, 11. 11. 1996, p. C 42, 15. 2 1993 p- 240 3 () 0J J () OJ () OJ () OJ ( ( o o o o o ) OJ C 48, 16. 2. 1994, p. 3. ¢) Opinion of the European Parliament of 9 May 1996 (O] C 152, 27. 5. 1996, p. 20), Council Common Position of 29 April 1997 (OJ C 188, 19. 6. 1997, p. 9) and Decision of the Euro- pean Parliament of 16 September 1997 (O] C 304, 6. 10. 1997, p. 34); Decision of the European Parliament of 19 November 1997 and Decision of the Council of 1 December 1997. in that postal services are an essential instrument of communication and trade; Whereas on 11 June 1992 the Commission presented a Green Paper on the development of the single market for postal services and, on 2 June 1993, a Communication on the guidelines for the development of Community postal services; Whereas the Commission has conducted wide- ranging public consultation on those aspects of postal services that are of interest to the Com- munity and the interested parties in the postal sector have communicated their observations to the Commission; Whereas the current extent of the universal postal service and the conditions governing its provision vary significantly from one Member State to another; whereas, in particular, performance in terms of quality of services is very unequal amongst Member States; Whereas cross-border postal links do not always meet the expectations of users and European citizens, and performance, in terms of quality of service with regard to Community cross-border postal services, is at the moment unsatisfactory; Whereas the disparities observed in the postal sector have considerable implications for those sectors of activity which rely especially on postal services and effectively impede the progress towards internal Community cohesion, in that the regions deprived of postal services of sufficiently high quality find themselves at a disadvantage as regards both their letter service and the distribution of goods; Whereas measures seeking to ensure the gradual and controlled liberalisation of the market and to secure a proper balance in the application thereof are necessary in order to guarantee, throughout the Community, and subject to the obligations and rights of the universal service providers, the free provision of services in the postal sector itself; Whereas action at Community level to ensure greater harmonisation of the conditions governing the postal sector is therefore necessary and steps must consequently be taken to establish common rules;