Brussels, 11/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 11 February, the European Commission announced that it had opened an in-depth investigation into measures taken by Spain since 2004 in favour of Correos, the publicly-owned Spanish postal operator.
The Commission has received two complaints. At this stage, it has concerns that Correos may have been overcompensated between 2004 and 2010 for the provision of the postal public service obligation. The Commission takes the view that on first sight, the profitability levels achieved by Correos thanks to the public funding it received appear to exceed the reasonable level of profit authorised by EU rules on state aid applicable to public service compensation, and also the levels previously authorised by the Commission in similar decisions regarding postal operators.
The Commission will also investigate other measures implemented by Spain in favour of Correos since 2004, specifically tax exemptions, capital increases and compensation for the distribution of electoral material.
The specific social security contributions scheme applicable to civil servants employed by Correos does not constitute State aid. The specific pension scheme for civil servants, on the other hand, is State aid. However, in view of the fact that this measure predates the accession of Spain to the European Union, it constitutes an existing aid which does not need to be recovered. (Original version in French by Elodie Lamer)