Author: Archive

More Time Needed to Reclaim State Aid to DPWN

Posted by Archive | Aug 30, 2002 | News |

The German government has asked the European Union for more time to come up with a plan for reclaiming at least EUR572 million in state aid to Deutsche Post AG (G.DPW), the finance ministry said Friday. The government has asked the E.U. Commission, the E.U.’s executive branch, to delay the deadline for the plan until Oct. 1, finance ministry spokesman Thomas Gerhardt said. The Commission set an Aug. 22 deadline for the plan when it ruled in mid-June that the state aid to the partially privatized mail company was illegal. It has yet to respond to the government’s request, Gerhardt said. The finance ministry fully expects the request to be accepted, Gerhardt added, saying it was based simply on understaffing at the ministry during the summer holidays. On June 19, the Commission ordered Deutsche Post to repay EUR572 million to the German government on the grounds the company used profits from a guaranteed monopoly letter business to undercut parcel-sector rivals between 1994 and 1998. In response, Deutsche Post said it would take a EUR850 million one-off provision in its accounts, including accrued interest. The repayment amount will be between EUR572 million and EUR820 million, according to the finance ministry’s Gerhardt. Though it took the one-off provision, Deutsche Post also pledged to appeal against the E.U. ruling at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

Italy Freezes Postal Tariffs for Three Months

Posted by Archive | Aug 30, 2002 | News |

The government blocked announced price hikes for public utilities Friday in an attempt to calm consumer outrage over inflation. A decree passed during a Cabinet meeting freezes the tariffs of electricity, gas and postal services until Nov. 30, said European Affairs Minister Rocco Buttiglione. Preliminary figures released this week by the Italian national statistics bureau Istat showed consumer prices rose 0.1 percent in August, or 2.3 percent since the same period last year. Consumer groups have complained that true inflation rates are far higher. They say the basket of goods and services the government uses to monitor prices is outdated, leading to flawed figures. Premier Silvio Berlusconi has blamed price increases on the introduction of the euro. Many consumers accused retailers of rounding up prices when the new currency was introduced in January.

Watchdog raps Royal Mail

Posted by Archive | Aug 30, 2002 | News |

Royal Mail came under fire from the postal watchdog yesterday, after it emerged that almost two-thirds of its services were performing less well than at the end of last year – including first class mail delivery.
The postal operator insisted that between April and June, 91.3 per cent of first-class letters had arrived the day after posting, against 86.5 per cent for the same period last year. Second-class mail deliveries, meanwhile, had beaten delivery targets.
But Postwatch said the figures showed that in a year at least 390m first-class letters would not arrive the next day. The watchdog added that Royal Mail’s results for 10 out of 16 postal services were worse now than at the end of last year.