On Monday 25 July, the European Commission authorised the Czech Republic’s plan to compensate Czech Post for the performance of its universal postal service obligation over the period 2018-2022.
In January 2020, the country notified the Commission of its intention to compensate Czech Post up to a maximum of approximately €302.9 million for the fulfilment of its universal postal service obligation over the period 2018-2022.
In June 2020, the Commission opened an in-depth investigation.
The Commission assessed the Czech measure under EU State aid rules, in particular Article 106(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, as well as the rules on public service compensation in the Services of General Economic Interest (‘SGEI’) Framework and the Postal Services Directive.
The Commission has examined whether the amount of compensation to be paid to Czech Post is likely to exceed what is necessary to cover the net cost of discharging the public service obligation.
The Commission concluded that:
- the scope of the universal service obligation (‘USO’) is in line with the definition set out in the Postal Services Directive (and the postal money order service is a genuine SGEI);
- the direct entrustment of the USO for the provision of postal services to Czech Post is in line with the rules on public service compensation and the Postal Services Directive, which allows the State to designate the universal service provider directly without a tender procedure;
- the compensation is based on a robust and conservative methodology, which ensures that it will not exceed the cost of the public service entrusted to Czech Post.
On this basis, the Commission approved the Czech measure under EU State aid rules. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)