EU ministers voted yesterday to increase competition in the postal sector over the next five years after 12 years of wrangling over the issue. But they avoided commitments on total market opening. In a move identified as a "major victory" by both the European Commission and France, the most hesitant member-state about market reform, ministers agreed that the market for letters should be further opened in 2003 and 2006 but that complete liberalisation, pencilled in for 2009, should await further legislation. But industry groups criticised the compromise while the Netherlands and Finland, which most favoured liberalisation, declined to support the legislation in its final form.