The European Commission judges it as compliant with the European rules on state aid the 1,3 billion euro compensation granted by Italy to Poste Italiane for the fulfillment of its public service obligation (“universal service obligation”) in the period 2020-2024.
As explained by Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President responsible for competition policy, “access to postal services is essential for all European citizens and businesses. The decision allows Poste Italiane to continue to provide basic postal services throughout Italy at affordable prices, without unduly distorting competition.
Going into detail, last October Italy communicated to the EU Commission its intention to compensate Poste Italiane with 1,3 billion for the fulfillment of the universal postal service obligation in the period 2020-2024, for a maximum annual amount of 262 million. The obligation includes the provision of basic postal services throughout Italy at affordable prices and in compliance with certain minimum quality requirements.
Brussels has noted that each Member State has the possibility to grant state aid to companies to compensate for the additional costs resulting from the fulfillment of a public service obligation, under certain conditions, including that of not overcompensating which could distort competition. Calibrating the figure well allows instead to guarantee an efficient use of public resources.
"Italy presented 'relevant' information to calculate the net avoided cost of the universal postal service and carried out a customer survey on the impact of the suspension of Poste Italiane's postal activities (including those covered by the universal service obligation) in an alternative scenario where Poste Italiane would not have received the aid (the so-called “counterfactual scenario”). The information provided by Italy enabled the Commission to exclude any risk of overcompensation. Based on these elements, the Commission concluded that the measure complies with state aid rules”, concluded Brussels.
"The assessment carried out by the Commission takes into account the fact that the compensation granted, based on a solid and prudent method, constitutes only a partial recovery of the total cost that Poste Italiane incurs for the provision of the universal service, and once again highlights the fundamental role of the universal service and of Poste Italiane in promoting the social, economic and territorial cohesion of our country". This is the company's comment.
Just yesterday, November 30, the Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, sent a message of thanks to the workers and workers of the company for the work done during the Covid emergency. In this "delicate" phase for Italy and for the whole world - the Premier told TGPoste, the company's news program, after a meeting with the CEO, Matteo Del Fante, and the co-managing director, Giuseppe Lasco - I wish thank the thousands of workers of Poste Italiane who have been and who continue to be on the front line to provide essential services to our fellow citizens. By continuing to carry out their business without ever stopping, they confirm that they are a point of reference for citizens".
