Deutsche Post loses court case
A court has ruled that Deutsche Post AG, the German postal services operator and former state monopolist, must allow the market for deadline deliveries of letters to be opened to competitors (the company otherwise still has a monopoly on letters weighing up to 200 grams). Deutsche Post had lodged a complaint against the awarding by the postal regulator of a licence for deadline deliveries.
The court based its decision on the fact that the basic services of Deutsche Post do not include the same-day delivery of letters or their delivery on a date specified by the customer. It rejected the former monopolist’s argument that the awarding of the licence represented a circumvention of its exclusive right.
