Dutch minister proposes two-day delivery standard as mail volumes plunge

Demissionary Economic Affairs Minister Vincent Karremans of the VVD is proposing to grant PostNL an additional day to deliver standard letters and postcards, aiming to address mounting challenges in the postal sector as mail volumes decline.

Under current regulations, private mail must be delivered within 24 hours. Karremans wants to extend that deadline to 48 hours starting in mid-2026. Despite the longer timeframe, PostNL would still be required to maintain a delivery schedule of five days per week, from Tuesday through Saturday.

The proposal mirrors an earlier plan advanced by Karremans’ predecessor, Dirk Beljaarts of the PVV, who also suggested a 48-hour delivery standard. However, Beljaarts withdrew his initiative after facing strong opposition from a broad majority in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of parliament.

Karremans said the existing postal regulations are outdated and no longer sustainable as fewer letters are being sent. “We are making the rules for postal delivery slightly more flexible to ensure that postal services continue to function across the Netherlands,” he stated.

Looking further ahead, Karremans warned that by 2028 or 2029, PostNL might require an additional day of leeway to deliver mail due to persistent declines in volume.

PostNL said the government’s proposal falls short and comes too late to address the underlying financial problems. The publicly traded company stressed that mail delivery will likely continue to operate at a loss in the coming years because of high costs. It also announced plans to file a formal objection to the government’s rejection of its earlier request for a subsidy and said it does not rule out taking further legal action.

“We appreciate the new minister’s attention to the public importance of mail delivery and the speed with which he has put forward a proposal for change,” PostNL CEO Pim Berendsen said in a statement. “At the same time, the proposed changes fall short and arrive too late.”

While PostNL called the shift to two-day, and eventually three-day, delivery a step in the right direction, the company argued that the proposal includes “unworkable standards” and leaves crucial issues unresolved.

Earlier this year, PostNL officially requested tens of millions of euros in government funding to sustain its universal service obligations, submitting an application for a total of 68 million euros covering 2025 and 2026. The company contended that it is carrying out a statutory duty on behalf of the government and should not be forced to operate the service at a loss.

Karremans, like his predecessor, rejected the request for subsidies. “It has to be a profitable business,” the minister said.