French banking group Credit Agricole has complained publicly about the quality of service offered by national postal services group La Poste, and has threatened to take its business elsewhere. The bank may be trying to renegotiate a more favourable commercial contract with the postal group. It has made enquiries about the prices charged by the Dutch and German postal services.
Read MoreA feasibility study into a high speed rail freight link between Paris CDG and Liege airports will be completed within the next two months.
Liege airport’s general manager, Luc Partoune, said one TGV Cargo train carrying mail, express and small parcels could cover the distance in 2 1/2 hours and offer capacity equivalent to a B747 freighter.
No date has been set for the launch of the TGV Cargo, a crucial issue being what timetabling provision SNCF and SNCB could offer the service.
This was one of the main sticking points in an aborted attempt by DHL to set up a high-speed rail link between Paris and Brussels over a decade ago
The European Commission has decided to pursue infringement procedures against thirteen Member States for failure to implement or for implementing incorrectly in national law various Internal Market Directives and EC Treaty obligations. The Commission is sending reasoned opinions to Austria, France and Greece for failing to implement the Second Postal Directive (2002/39/EC) by the agreed date of 31 December 2002. In January 2003, the Commission sent letters of formal notice the first stage of the infringement procedure – to the eight Member States that had not implemented the Directive by the agreed date. Since then, five Member States (Denmark, Spain, Ireland, Luxembourg and Portugal) have notified the Commission that they have written the Directive into national law. Austria, France and Greece have also begun the implementation process and Austria and France have introduced some administrative measures to partially remedy the effects of the delay. Given that this delay is already over six months, the Commission will continue the formal infringement procedures against Austria, France and Greece to help ensure that any further delay is minimised.
Read MoreRepresentatives of the SUD and CGT unions yesterday resigned from the board of directors of the French post office (La Poste) in protest against the organisation’s alleged plans to shed between 40,000 and 60,000 jobs over three years. La Poste itself says that the exact number of job cuts, which are part of a restructuring programme, has yet to be decided.
Read MoreTPG, the Dutch mail and logistics group, has complained to the European Commission that the French government is distorting competition in the postal sector by favouring La Poste, the state-owned French company. TPG alleges that Paris has discriminated against new entrants in the French express delivery market by harassing them for their use of subcontractors while taking no similar action against La Poste. Under European Union rules, the Commission is duty-bound to look into such complaints. If it found that the French government had broken single-market rules or granted illegal state aid, it could order Paris to change its behaviour.
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