Postal Services: Survey of Competition Law Developments: 2018

Abstract

This article summarises the most significant competition law developments in the postal services sector in 2018, at EU level and at national level in France, Germany, and the UK.1 2018 has seen an important judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU (‘CJEU’) concerning the permissible scope of postal services regulation pursuant to the EU Postal Services Directive, Directive 97/67 (as amended). In the State aid area, the European Commission has adopted decisions approving State aid for the universal service providers in the postal service sectors of Denmark, France, and the Czech Republic. The Commission also adopted a decision requiring Spain to recover €167 million unlawful State aid from the incumbent Spanish universal service provider, Correos. At national level, in the UK, Ofcom adopted a decision that Royal Mail had abused a dominant position by discriminating in its downstream network access prices to competing delivery companies and fined Royal Mail £50 million.