INTERNATIONAL MAIL EXPRESS ITALY/POSTE ITALIANE
PRESS RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
The Competition Authority has begun investigating Poste Italiane for alleged abuse of a dominant position for the provision of the cross-border postal distribution service
At its meeting on 4 April 2001 the Competition Authority began an investigation into Poste Italiane. The purpose of the investigation is to see whether the company is abusing its dominant position within the meaning of article 82 of the E.C. Treaty, by the following conduct:
1) the intercepting of correspondence from abroad and suspending the forwarding service;
2) the imposition of a particularly high charge on the intermediaries or Italian customers for the delivery to the addressee of correspondence on which payment has already been made for the postal service in the country of posting.
The basis for the investigation is the fact that the public postal services in each country may request a fee for large quantities of post sent from abroad, calculated according to the criteria set out in international agreements. But under no circumstances may they block any incoming post. Furthermore, according to the international conventions to which Poste Italiane is a party the public postal service provider in the addressee's country cannot directly demand - as seems to have been the case in Italy - any payment for forwarding the incoming post to the addressee.
This conduct can seriously harm the economic interests of providers working in competition with Poste Italiane and the customers of the postal services concerned, which could have significant repercussions on competition and, eventually, be to the detriment of consumers.
Rome, 19 April 2001