Polish Post’s Monopoly on TV License Under EU Scrutiny

The government has given the state postal service Poczta Polska a monopoly on collecting and controlling the payments for public TV licenses. The National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) decided that Poczta will receive 6 percent of the gathered funds. The provision amounted to ZL56 million last year. MPs and the KRRiT have decided to look into the matter. KRRiT Economic Department Director Jacek Kufel said Poczta should receive a maximum of 4.5 percent, since the less money Poczta gets, the more funds will be available for public TV and radio broadcasting. It is also possible that the European Commission will look into the monopoly, as Poczta Polska is currently being looked into because of its application for EU subsidies. The government is planning to introduce a new law that would enable competition in the field of fee collection through conducting a tender.