The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into whether annual payments by theBelgian Government to the national postal operator were in line with the rules on state aid,
stipulated by the EC Treaty.The Commission’s initial decision to authorise the government’s payments to Belgian La Postein 2003 was overturned by the European Court of First Instance in Luxembourg, the second-highest EUcourt (CFI), in February 2009 following an appeal from La Poste’s two competitors Deutsche Post andits subsidiary DHL International.
During the investigation, the EU will verify whether the yearly compensation for publicservice obligations paid to La Poste is in line with the EU framework for state aid in the form ofpublic service compensation. It will also examine a series of other non-notified measures in favourof La Poste.
“The Commission’s investigation aims to establish in a comprehensive way whether the totalityof the measures in favour of La Poste since its incorporation can be considered compatible with theSingle Market,” the EU said in a statement.
The European Commission added that a formal investigation procedure would give interestedparties the opportunity to comment on the measures under examination. “It does not prejudge theoutcome of the investigation,” the Commission added.
Neelie Kroes, the European Commissioner for Competition confirmed the EU statement above:“The opening of a formal investigation gives all interested parties a chance to express their viewsand will help to provide legal certainty to all actors involved, including La Poste.”
In 2003, the European Commission authorised the payments by the Belgian government to thenational postal operator following several meetings with Belgian authorities. The money, to be paidas a capital injection, was less than the “compensation gap” in previous authorised state paymentsto Belgian Post and was therefore not state aid, it decided.
But Deutsche Post and DHL, which compete with Belgian Post in the express and parcels market,had unsuccessfully requested an official approval process for the government payments so that theycould be consulted over the issue. Following the Commission’s approval, Deutsche Post thereforetook legal action against the decision.
In response to the appeal, the CFI annulled the European Commission’s decision on the groundsthat the commission had not properly investigated how the capital increase would impact on theparcel market.
La Poste is entrusted with a number of public service missions for which it is compensated bythe Belgian authorities. The principles of the compensation and their ceilings are specified insuccessive “management contracts”, concluded between the Belgian government and the state postaloperator for certain periods.
The state compensation for carrying out services to remoter regions, where operationswouldn’t be otherwise commercially viable is common practise in Europe, where many postal operatorsare still state owned, the international news agency Dow Jones reported.
