Spain: Brussels probes illegal advantages of Spanish mail carrier

European competition authorities have launched an “in-depth probe to examine whether state measures granted to Correos, the Spanish public mail carrier, adjust to the EU’s norms regarding state aid.”

The Commission, led by Danish economist Margrethe Vestager, will examine whether “the public financing Spain granted to Correos represents an excessive compensation to the company for their performance of their public postal service duties, and whether this or other measures have given Correos an unfair advantage by violating the EU’s state aid laws.”

State subsidies are allowed under European law only under very specific circumstances. As is the case with private companies and taxable agreements, aiding a company or industry cannot be incompatible with competition – that is, it cannot be done to benefit a single entity to the detriment of other competitors.

Full content: El Mundo

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