Deutsche Post Loses EU Court Challenge Over State-Aid Probe

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Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Post AG, Europe’s largest postal service, lost a challenge against a regulator’s decision to re-open a probe into possible state aid after complaints from competitors.

The EU General Court, the region’s second-highest court based in Luxembourg, today dismissed the challenge by Deutsche Post as “inadmissible.” The ruling can be appealed to the EU Court of Justice.

Deutsche Post in 2007 sought to ban a decision by the European Commission, the EU’s executive agency, to investigate “all public measures, such as transfers of public money and tariff income” granted to the Bonn-based company and its predecessor Postdienst since 1989.

The probe followed a commission decision in June 2002 that Germany must recover 572 million euros ($767 million) of illegal aid to Deutsche Post because the postal service had improperly used the money to cover losses in its parcel-delivery business.

Deutsche Post in 2008 won a lower EU court ruling to overturn the EU’s June 2002 decision that it misused 572 million euros in state subsidies. The decision was upheld by the EU’s top court in 2010, by which time the original amount had increased to 1.15 billion euros with the addition of interest.

Deutsche Post will have to study the ruling before deciding whether to appeal, Dirk Klasen, a spokesman for the company, said by phone.

The case is: T-421/07, Deutsche Post v. European Commission.