The legal rules applicable to State compensation for services of general economic interest (“SGEIs”) were recently revised by the European Commission. This led to the adoption of the “2012 SGEI Package”. The most contentious document of this Package, the “2012 Framework”, sets out...

With the implementation of the Third Postal Directive, the European Union took an essential step towards full market opening. According to the Directive, all Member States must fully liberalize their postal markets by the end of 2011 or 2012, at the latest. Having thus created scope for...

Over the last ten years, the European Commission has been trying to increase competition in the postal sector. In order to achieve this goal, as well as other objectives such as the enhancement of the quality of postal services in the EU and the maintenance of universal service, the Commission...

European Community law has played a pivotal role in opening to competition economic sectors previously under the control of public monopolies. As with other sectors such as telecommunications, air transport, electricity, gas, and rail, the postal sector has succumbed to the wave of...