EC slams Deutsche Post over monopolistic abuse

Bonn: Deutsche Post has had its knuckles rapped by the European Commission for taking advantage of its monopoly position after a lengthy investigation resulting in a £15m fine. The European Commission found the company to be in violation of European treaties by abusing its monopoly position “in granting
fidelity rebates and engaging in predatory pricing in the market for business parcel services”. The company has now been ordered to separate its monopoly service, in order to avoid revenues from the letter market subsidising the business service and keeping prices artificially low. Under the new system
Deutsche Post will be committed to providing market-based pricing. “This decision will establish clear rules on the issue of ‘cross-subsidies’ that postal monopolies which are also engaged in activities open to competition must respect,” says competition commissioner Mario Monti. Problems were also caused by Deutsche Post’s recent purchase of stakes in US companies including DHL Worldwide. This caused both FedEx and UPS to separately file complaints to the US department of transportation claiming Deutsche Post to be violating
federal laws on the ownership of US companies by foreign stakeholders.
Emma Rubach Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors