The European Commission gave the green light on Tuesday for a €634 million payout by the Belgian government to Bpost.
At the end of last year, Belgium notified the Commission that it wanted to pay Bpost €634 million in compensation over the period 2022-2026 for their postal services, which include maintaining a network of offices throughout the country, implementing the payment of pensions, and delivering printed material for the elections.
EU State aid regulations allow governments to compensate companies for additional costs related to the provision of public services of general economic interest. The Commission then verifies that there is no overcompensation, which is not the case for Bpost.
The amount does not exceed the costs, and the compensation mechanism includes incentives for the utility to improve the efficiency and quality of its public services.
The payout will allow Bpost to continue to provide postal services throughout Belgium at affordable prices for consumers, without undue distortions of competition, the European Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, opined in her decision.
