On 10 May The Commission extended a formal investigation under EU state aid rules into the compensation by the German State of the universal service obligations of Deutsche Post AG. The extension concerns the subsidies paid by the State to cover the costs of the pensions of those employees, past and present, who have a civil servant status. Germany claims that pension subsidies compensate ‘legacy costs’ from the time when Deutsche Post was a postal administration and ought to be compatible with EU State aid rules. Click here.