Deutsche Post World Net files suit against decision of the EU Commission

BONN 19. 6. 2002 - (ots/PROTEXT) - Deutsche Post World Netwill file a suit before the European Court of Justice againstthe decision on state aid released today by the EU Commission.Dr. Klaus Zumwinkel, Chairman of the Board of Management, isvery confident about the outcome of the proceedings. "TheCommission's decision is so clearly disputable that only ajudgement in favour of Deutsche Post is conceivable," he stated.Zumwinkel again confirmed without reservation that Deutsche Postused neither unauthorized cross-subsidies nor unlawful state aidfor its business parcel division.

The Group accused the EU Commission of applying doublestandards in reaching its decision. It stands in blatantcontradiction to the Commission's decision on state aid in Italyas well as in Ireland at the beginning of 2002. In the case ofthe Italian post office for example, a total of Euro 25 billionin state benefits, of which around Euro 16 billion were intendedto cover so-called historical inefficiency costs, were fullyapproved by the Commission. "In contrast, Deutsche Post, whichhas successfully restructured and is therefore profitable, isbeing punished by a totally incomprehensible repayment decision,"said Zumwinkel. "We demand the same legal and political treatmentas other European postal companies and intend to pursue this byfiling a suit in the European Court of Justice."

At the same time, the Group's Chairman noted that the currentdecision cannot be brought into line with previously concludedcompetition proceedings against Deutsche Post regarding the samematter. In that case, after years of investigations into thequestion of possible cross-subsidies, the EU Commission wasforced to refrain from fining the company. "It cannot be," saidZumwinkel, "that the same facts be evaluated in a totallydifferent manner in other proceeedings".

In the latest decision the EU Commission treats the allegedcross-subsidisation of under-absorbed costs in the businessparcel division (1994 - 1998) as actual state aid. However, theEU Commission has neither determined nor proven that this allegedcross-subsidisation was actually financed from state aid. Inorder to identify state aid of this kind the EU Commission wouldfirst have had to determine that the total amount of state aidreceived exceeded the total burden incurred by the universalservice. Only in such a case can there be any talk of state aid,not only under the ECJ's current jurisdiction (Ferring ruling),but also under the most recent decision on state aid inconnection with the Italian and Irish postal companies. To datethe EU Commission has not calculated Deutsche Post's addeduniversal service burden. In this respect there is definitely noevidence of state aid.

Additionally, Deutsche Post World Net cites a whole series ofprocedural errors and legal inconsistencies in the latestdecision. In Deutsche Post's opinion, there was a seriousprocedural error in that the EU Commission considered thedistribution of assets between Deutsche Telekom and Deutsche Postin 1995 to be state aid. Not a single word on this aspect wasmentioned in the opening order. Therefore, to ensure a legallyproper hearing for Deutsche Post, there should have been aformal addendum to the opening order. If not, this presents aserious procedural error which per se would have to lead to theannulment of the ruling.

As a result of the ruling, until a decision is taken by theECJ for the Group Deutsche Post World Net is preparing to bearextraordinary expenses of approximately Euro 850 million(repayment plus interest). Given an operating profit of almostEuro 2.5 billion, this one-off payment corresponds to almostone-third of the net profit for the period.

We move the world. With its brands Deutsche Post, DHL,Danzas and Postbank, Deutsche Post World Net is one of thelargest high-performing logistics companies in the world. Over300,000 employees generated revenues of Euro 33.4bn in 2001. TheGroup offers integrated solutions for domestic and internationalcustomers. These include worldwide mail, parcel, express andlogistics services, innovative eBusiness solutions and a broadrange of financial services. Deutsche Post World Netsuccessfully went public in the autumn of 2000. Its stock wasquoted for the first time on 20 November 2000. On 19 March 2001Deutsche Post World Net joined the Deutsche Aktien Index (DAX30), placing its stock among the 30 most important stocks inGermany.

Press contact: Deutsche Post World Net Press Office DrMartin Dopychai Norbert Schäfer Tel.: +49 (0)228 / 182 - 99 88Fax: +49 (0)228 / 182 - 98 22 Email: pressestelle@deutschepost.de

Deutsche Post AG Zentrale Pressestelle Hausadresse: Heinrich-von-Stephan-Str. 1 53175 Bonn Telefon (0228) 182 - 99 88 Telefax(0228) 182 - 98 80 E-Mail: pressestelle@deutschepost.de Internet:http://www.deutschepost.de

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