The German government has reached provisional agreement with the opposition Social Democrats on reform of the state post and telecommunications service to pave the way for eventual privatisation: the change in the constitution will enable the creation of the Deutsche Bundespost Telekom, the postal system and the postal bank as joint-stock companies under a holding company incorporated under public law, enabling the state to maintain final control; the agreements are designed so that the career prospects of staff can be guaranteed; the three companies will operate independently and the role of the state holding company would not prevent them being floated on the stock exchange – but the state will retain a blocking minority in the operating companies, Reuter reports; the proposals will be put to the parliamentary groups of the main parties in mid-June, and if they approve, constitutional provisions stating that the federal government must run post and telecommunications could be amended by the end of next year.
