STATE AID : COMMISSION ENDS PROBE INTO LA POSTE GUARANTEE.

The European Commission has closed its investigation into the unlimited guarantee granted to France's La Poste due to its particular status as a commercial and industrial state-run body (EPIC), following the adoption by the French parliament, on 12 January, of a law transforming it into a public company.

This law effectively puts an end to the implicit guarantee by the state in favour of La Poste, which had been the subject of an in-depth investigation by the Commission in 2007. The EU executive had, in fact, considered that, due to its EPIC status, La Poste would benefit from an implicit state guarantee, which was, moreover, unlimited, unpaid and applied to the commercial activities of La Poste, which distorted competition, rendering it incompatible with the single market.

Following complaints from French banks to the Commission, the latter had recommended that France should abolish the guarantee by 31 December 2008 at the latest. However, bearing...