Euro gossip wrong on Post Offices (Stockton Liberal Democrats)

Stockton Liberal Democrats <info@stocktonlibdems.org.uk>

Euro gossip wrong on Post Offices

April 24, 2008 4:56 PM

There is a rumour going round, fuelled by the right wing press, that the reason why Post Offices are closing down is that it is all the fault of the European Parliament.

Liberal Democrat Member for the European Parliament for the North East, Fiona Hall, said "Although eurosceptics like to blame everything unpopular on Brussels, the fact is that Post Offices are closing in this country not because of any EU directive, but because the Government has been removing the key business that the Post Offices relied on: undermining the PO card account and taking vehicle licence, BBC license fees and passport reviews away from post offices."

"It is the Labour Government that has made the decisions to take these services away from Post Offices, and so away from local people"

Note

Eurosceptics also claim that the Post Office contravenes EU state aid rules. These rules were agreed so that no nation could distort the internal market by subsidising their country's companies at the expense of those from others. However the European Commission has confirmed recently that the Post Offices constitute a genuine public service and as such, do not qualify under the prohibition.