Brussels, 15/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - As already we have already announced, the European Commission has concluded that the supporting measures taken by Italy in favour of Poste Italiane between 1994 and 1999 did not give the enterprise an advantage that goes beyond the extra cost of the general public service mission entrusted to it and therefore does not contitute a State Aid. The Commission has therefore closed the State Aud investigation that it had begun in July 1998.
In 1994, the Amministratzione Poste e Telecomunicazioni (APT) - a postal, telecommunications and financial services provider, was transformed into Ente Poste Italiane (EPI) and was clearly separate from the Ministry. In 1998 EPI was again transformed into Poste Italiane SpA, a purely commercial undertaking 100% controlled by the State. In 1997 the Commission received a complaint alleging that during the transformation of APT into EPI, Italy adopted a number of measures granting State Aid without having notified the Commission. In July 1998, the Commission opened formal investigation procedures, also identifying several other measures as possible examples of State Aid. During the enquiry, the Commission learned that Italy was planning to grant other supporting measures to EPI. According to a ruling made by the European Court of Justice, Member States are entititled to ensure that undertakings charged with missions of general interest perform that mission in conditions of economic equilibrium, without this consituting a State Aid if the support does not go beyond the extra cost. The Commission therefore carried out its investigation in this perspective and concluded that over the period 1994-1999 the amount granted to EPI was asround ITL 3,000 billion (EUR 1.5 billion). The Commission has concluded that these high costs do not, however, constitute State Aid because EPI did not receive excessive compensation for the public service mission it performed.