Brussels, 13/06/2008 (Agence Europe) - Deutsche Post announced on Wednesday 11 June that it had tabled a complaint with the European Commission against the decision of the Netherlands to postpone the opening-up to competition of the last segment of the postal service which can still be reserved, the handling of mail below 50 g in weight, without having specified a date for further action. "This complaint is based on the decision of the Dutch government not to put an end to the postal monopoly as planned for 1 July 2008, but to extend it indefinitely, thus creating a competitive advantage for the Dutch company TNT", said the German company in a press release (our translation). The press release continued: "In this decision, the Netherlands joins the ranks of the opponents of liberalisation, rejecting the uniform opening-up of the postal market in Europe and continuing to rely on closing down the markets instead of competition".
On Friday 13 June, the Commission confirmed that it had received a complaint from the German postal group, which focused more on the competition law aspect than on legislation on the internal market. One is hard put not to connect this issue with the complaint brought by TNT at the end of March regarding the minimum hourly rate set in Germany for the postal sector (see EUROPE 9629). This hourly rate, which was brought in in early 2008 when the German market was definitively liberalised, is artificially high and constitutes an artificial barrier to competition, the Dutch company argues. The Commission is by no means blind to the link between the two cases. But it warns that the member states cannot sit on their reserved segments and wait for the liberalisation deadline (2012 for the Netherlands); they must demonstrate that the reserved segment is necessary for the financing of the universal postal service. Furthermore, the principle of reciprocity is inapplicable: a member state cannot decide to keep in place its reserved segment by quoting a lack of competition on the market of other member states - which is one reason stressed by the Dutch government in justifying its decision. "The allegation that competition is insufficient in the neighbouring countries, particularly in Germany, is just an excuse. The German postal market was fully liberalised on 1 January 2008. An indefinite delay is protecting the national market of the Dutch (company) TNT, which has been active in Germany for years", says Deutsche Post.
Postal liberalisation will be the subject of a specific conference to be held on Tuesday 24 June in Brussels by the Commission. It will be attended by, amongst others, Commissioners Kroes and McCreevy, with responsibility for competition and the internal market respectively, and by Markus Ferber (EPP-ED, Germany), rapporteur of the European Parliament on the postal directives. This event may provide the opportunity for the Commission to clarify its position in this matter and to reiterate its vigilance concerning other potential barriers to the completion of the postal single market identified in seven member states (see EUROPE 9626). (M.B./transl.fl)