Summary
Quite rightly there has been much correspondence and articles in the local and national press regarding the closure of rural post offices, now confirmed as some 2,500. However, little or no reference to the fact and detail behind these closures is given so the following may be of help in determining who governs whom and where the decision making is really being made.
Under the terms of the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam, Article 88, the Government has to have the permission of the European Commission to provide state-aid to the Post Office. This permission was initially granted by the European Commissioners to the sum of pounds150 million annually for three years, which finishes in 2008. Subsequently, EU Directive 2002/39/EC amended this earlier directive. With still nearly two years to go the UK has nearly spent the total permitted under Directive 2002/39/EC for additional money. This application was refused.See the full content of this document
Extract
Eu Rules Lie Behind Post Office Closures
Therefore for reasons of exceeding the permitted expenditure the government had to look at closures amongst much su...
See the full content of this document
Sponsored links
