De europæiske stater har i over et århundrede drevet offentlige posttjenester, der fungerede nogenlunde tilfredsstillende, indtil man begyndte at erstatte kriterierne om offentlig tjeneste med kriterierne om rentabilitet.
For over a century, the European states have established public postal services that worked in more or less acceptable fashion until criteria of public service began to give way to those of profitability.