European Commission takes a closer look at the Polish Post

The European Commission has a problem with Poczta Polska – it wonders whether the special privileges that the Postal Service enjoys are not a disguised form of state aid. Poczta Polska is a public utility enterprise, founded on a legal basis – this special legal status gives its a privileged position over potential competitors. Entities created by force of law are not subject to bankruptcy legislation – put simply, the Polish Post cannot go bankrupt. If it wants to obtain credit from a bank, such credit would be guaranteed by the state. This status was OK for many years, and the EC focused on it only after it received letters from the Polish government, asking it to approve aid programs for the Postal Service. The Commission has not decided yet if the situation of the Polish Post raises any concerns about fairness of competition – currently the Postal Service does not obtain any benefits from its status.