PostNL Wants To Get Rid of the Legal Obligations for Postal Delivery Under The Universal Postal Service (UPD) and Asked the Minister of Economic Affairs for Withdrawal. A Judge Rejected An Earlier Request for Financial Support for the Loss-Making Service on Friday.
In February, The Company had Applied for a Total of 68 Million Euros in subsidies for the years 2025 and 2026. The Goal was to cover the extra costs that the upd entails, Such as collecting and Delivering mail from more than 10.000 mailboxes, Five Days a Week.
The Cabinet Rejected the subsidy application, after which PostNL took Legal Action and Requested an Advance of 15 Million Euros on the subsidy that the postal company had applied for.
The Administrative Court for Trade and Industry (CBB) Rejected that Request Because, Accordance to the Judge, PostNL’s Financial Situation is not Yet Critical Enough for Direct Support. Accordance to the Judge of the CBB, Other Options, Such as Reducing the UPD, Remain Possible.
But PostNL Says It No Longer Sees Any Solutions, Creating An Unsustainable Situation. Pim Berendsen, General Manager at PostNL, Emphasizes That Continuing Under The Current Conditions is Unsustainable. “Our Employees do Everything Can to Maintain Postal Services, Despite Falling Volumes. We have reduced costs, but Further Savings are not Possible.”
Accordance to Berendsen, The Current Obligations Make It Difficult for the Company to Continue Providing Postal Services. The recent proposal from the minister to extend the delivery time to two or three days is insufficient. “It comes too late and does not solve the high costs of the upd.”
For the time being, Nothing Will Change in Postal Delivery, A PostNL Spokesperson Said. The Company is Asking the Minister to Respond To The Withdrawal Request Within Two Months and Will Then Take Further Steps. The CBBs Ruling is a preliminary provision. The Substantive Assessment of the Subsidy Application Will Follow later.