Brussels, 03/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 3 June, the European Commission authorised Belgian plans to compensate Bpost, the main postal operator of the country, with €1.3 billion for the provision of postal services of general economic interest between 2016 and 2020.
These services include maintaining a post office network throughout Belgium, delivering pension payments, providing universal cash at counter services, delivering printed material related to elections and distributing recognised newspapers and periodicals in Belgium. The Belgian authorities held a public consultation which confirmed the vital socio-economic role of the public services entrusted to Bpost.
According to the Commission, the compensation awarded to Bpost is based on rigorous methodology, guaranteeing that the level of compensation will not be greater than the cost of the public service mission. The compensation mechanism also contains measures encouraging Bpost to increase the efficiency and quality of its public services. (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)