On Monday 19 February, the European Commission cleared a Czech compensation measure in favour of the Czech Post company, for the provision of the universal postal service between 2013 and 2017.
This universal postal service obligation allows Czech citizens to benefit from the provision of postal services at affordable prices and under certain qualitative conditions throughout the country. By way of compensation for this activity between 2013 and 2017, the Czech authorities planned to award aid to Czech Post of a maximum of 2.6 billion Czech Koruna, or around €97.63 million.
The Commission assessed the regime under EU state aid rules, and more specifically the rules on public service compensation. These allow the public authorities to pay compensation to companies carrying out a public service mission, under certain conditions. In particular, the support must be proportionate, in order to avoid causing any significant competition distortion and ensure that effective use is being made of public resources.
Noting that the Czech measure was based on a rational methodology and that the level of aid would be limited to the costs of the public service mission, the Commission concluded that it was in line with EU state aid rules. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)