The Dutch Post Office, PostNL, is applying for compensation for the cost of running the universal postal service, which it calculates adds between 107m euros and 125m euros to its costs.
The additional costs include meeting the statutory obligation for six-day delivery, retaining 19,000 mail boxes and an extensive network of post offices.
Dutch law provide for a scheme for compensation for the net costs of the universal service. PostNL says the net costs of the USO are increasing owing to decreasing volumes, while the statutory obliged service levels remain the same.