The European Commission decided on Thursday 10 March to open an in-depth investigation to determine whether certain Greek support measures for ELTA comply with EU State aid rules.
ELTA, the main postal service provider in Greece, is the postal operator entrusted with the provision of the Universal Service Obligation (USO), which is a public service mission.
The in-depth investigation concerns:
- whether ELTA was legally entitled to receive additional compensation (of €149 million) for the USO for the period 2013-2018, given that it had already received an annual compensation of €15 million for the same period;
- whether the capital injection (€100 million) in favour of ELTA has been granted on market terms or whether it gave the company an undue advantage over its competitors;
- whether the VAT exemption could be considered as aid, as this exemption applies to all postal services provided by ELTA. While for the period before August 2010 this measure could constitute existing aid, for the period after August 2010 it would constitute new aid. The Commission has doubts about the compatibility of such new aid with the common market. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)