Postal Services: Survey of Competition Law Developments

Abstract

The European Commission has published a detailed summary of its prohibition of the intended merger of United Parcel Service Inc. and TNT Express, based on the finding that the acquisition would significantly impede effective competition in various national markets in the EEA for international intra-EEA express delivery services for small packages. The Court of Justice of the EU has issued a judgment rejecting France's appeal against the European General Court's judgment upholding the European Commission's decision finding that French law involved an unlimited State guarantee of the operations of LaPoste. Important competition law investigations are being conducted by the national competition authority in France and Germany and by the national regulatory authority in the UK, and further important competition regulatory investigations are under way in Germany, in the postal services sector.