CORREOS fined in Margi

• Spain: The Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia fines Correos in Margin
Squeeze Case
On 21 January 2014, the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) imposed a fine of
€ 8 170 000 on the postal service provider Sociedad Estatal Correos y Telégrafos S.A. (Correos) for abusing
its dominant position on the wholesale market for postal services (access to the public postal network
managed by Correos) and on the retail market for postal services involving large senders (business
customers) in Spain.
The government-controlled company Correos was found to have offered its ‘key accounts’ (corporate
customers who contract more than € 100 000 in postal services per year) significantly higher discounts
than those offered to alternative operators, including Unipost, who use the universal postal service
network for equivalent services. This policy was applied even though the alternative operators were
contracting similar postal services in sufficient volumes to be considered ‘key accounts’ in their own right.
According to the CNMC, this constitutes a margin squeeze which has prevented the other operators from
competing, because they cannot offer their services to consumers without incurring losses. Therefore it
infringes Article 2 of the Competition Act and Article 102 TFEU.
Correos is the administrator of the largest nationwide postal network and is the principal operator in
the market. It is charged with providing the universal postal service until 2025 and is obliged to provide
competitors with wholesale access to its network, in accordance with Act 43/2010 of 30 December
2010 on the Universal Postal Service Act, rights of users and the postal market. Despite the liberalisation
initiated by the EU Directives of 1997, 2002 and 2008, Correos has a turnover 10 times as large as its
biggest competitor, Unipost.
Proceedings in this case were opened on 9 March 2012 following a complaint lodged on 12 September
2011 with the former National Competition Commission (CNC) by Unipost. On 9 April 2012 Akropost
Servicios Postales Del Pais Vasco S.A. was admitted to the proceeding as an interested party.
For further information: Infringement Proceeding S/0373/11
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