Ploys to protect a national postal operator from competition will face a legal challenge, officials at the European Union's executive body said on Monday. The EU's 27 members adopted laws this year to open all national mail markets to full competition - in the face of bitter opposition from the sector's labour unions.
Some 95 percent of the 90 billion euro ($139.7 billion) market will be fully liberalised from the start of 2011, with the rest two years later. The European Commission had wanted full liberalisation from the start of 2009 but was rebuffed by EU states.
EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy, however, is taking no chances and in an unusual step has warned eight states not to protect some of the sector's 1.7 million jobs. He wrote to Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland in March pointing out his concerns.
Legal actions began this month with the European Commission launching proceedings against Slovakia for shielding part of the market from competition and more actions appear likely. "All the eight member states are potential targets," a Commission official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
Austria is a concern as the top operator has sole access to keys for private letter boxes in hallways of apartment blocks, making it hard for new entrants to compete, the official said.
There is a similar practice in Poland, he added. Finland has in theory opened its market to full competition but insists on a fee from new entrants if they won't offer their service across all the territory, the official said. "That, for us, is a freedom of establishment issue," the official added, referring to a plank of EU law that can be mobilised to stop a country hindering competition.
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