EC CONDEMNS DEUTSCHE POST AGAIN FOR “ABUSIVE BEHAVIOR”

EC CONDEMNS DEUTSCHE POST AGAIN FOR “ABUSIVE BEHAVIOR”

EC CONDEMNS DEUTSCHE POST AGAIN FOR “ABUSIVE BEHAVIOR”

   The European Commission has condemned Deutsche Post AG for its “abusive behavior” related to international mail.
   The EC took a formal decision on Wednesday finding that “Deutsche Post has abused its dominant position in the German letter market by intercepting, surcharging and delaying incoming international mail which it erroneously classified as circumvented domestic mail.”
   The EC said that the German postal and logistics group’s abusive behaviour warrants the imposition of a fine, but it decided to impose only a “symbolic” fine of 1,000 euro (about $900) “due to the legal uncertainty that prevailed at the time of the infringement.”
   The EC also condemned Deutsche Post last year and fined the group 24 million euro ($21.6 million), when it found that the German postal carrier “abused its dominant position” by granting rebates, in addition to engaging in predatory pricing for its parcel services.
   “We make it very clear that dominant postal operators such as Deutsche Post may not impede the free flow of mail between member states,” said Mario Monti, EC competition commissioner. “Companies that have been awarded wide-ranging monopoly rights have a special responsibility not to abuse their dominant market positions by behaving anti-competitively,” he added.
   Future abuses of a similar nature by Deutsche Post “will result in severe penalties,” the EC said.