Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2024/3224of 29 November 2024on the applicability of Article 34 of Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council to contracts awarded for activities related to the provision of certain postal services and other services than postal services in Slovakia(notified under document C(2024) 8407)(Only the Slovak text is authentic)(Text with EEA relevance)

Article 19 of the Postal Law No 324/2011 on postal services and on amendments and supplements to certain acts of 23 November 2019.

. The registration of postal operators, such as Fusion trans s.r.o. in 2019 and ™ INTERNATIONAL s.r.o. and Nova Post SK s.r.o. in 2023 further confirms that there are no barriers (or at least no significant barriers) to market entry

Request, point 188.

.

(37) According to the information submitted by the applicant

Request, Figure 14 entitled Structure of the international standard parcels market based on revenue values in 2020-2023. The estimate market structure for years 2020-2022 is based on the revenues of the key market players active in Slovakia, which hold the licence for the provision of universal service, interchangeable services or other services (i.e., Slovenská pošta, a.s., Mediaprint — Kapa Pressegrosso, a.s., 123Kurier and UPS Slovakia). The data is based on publicly available financial statements and annexes to the financial statements. The forecasted structure of the market based on revenue values in the year 2023 is based on unaudited preliminary results of the Slovenská pošta, a.s.; the results of key competitors are projected using the revenue average annual growth rate for the years 2020 — 2022. The estimation for 123Kurier is based on the revenue average annual growth rate on the market.

, the market share of the applicant, in terms of value, in this segment of the market was [20-25] % in 2022 and [25-30] % in 2023.

(38) The market shares of the biggest competitors, in terms of value, for year 2022 were as follows: UPS Slovakia [45-50] %, 123kurier [25-30] %, Mediaprint — Kapa Pressegrosso, a.s. [0-5] %. For year 2023, the market shares are as follows: UPS Slovakia [40-45] %, 123kurier [25-30] %, Mediaprint — Kapa Pressegrosso, a.s. [0-5] %. The applicant’s market share is comparable to the market share of 123kurier while it is lower than the market share of UPS Slovakia. In terms of volume, the market shares of the applicant and of its key competitors essentially would correspond to the ones indicated in terms of value

See in this regard, additional information provided by the applicant to the Commission on 22 August 2024. The applicant provides its estimates for the market shares of applicant’s key competitors, on the basis of the volumes on the international markets (standard and express). For splitting the total market volume value among the key competitors, the applicant used as a proxy the market shares of applicant’s key competitors calculated based on revenues. In this regard, the applicant took into consideration the total market volume published by the NRA and extrapolated the market shares of applicant’s key competitors based on revenues.

.

(39) It is expected that the entry of Nova Post SK s.r.o. into the market in 2023 will further increase competition in this segment of the market

Request, point 189.

.

(40) In light of the factors described in recitals 36, 37, 38 and 39, for the purposes of this Decision and without prejudice to competition law, the Commission finds that the activity relating to the provision of international standard parcel delivery services in Slovakia is directly exposed to competition. Consequently, since the conditions set out in Article 34 of Directive 2014/25/EU are met, it can be concluded that Directive 2014/25/EU does not apply to contracts for the pursuit of the aforesaid activity.

3.2.3.3.

International express parcel delivery services

(41) Based on the information submitted by the applicant, there are 10 postal parcel delivery services providers in the market for international express parcel delivery services

See in this regard, additional information provided by the applicant to the Commission on 12 September 2024.

. In addition, there are low barriers to market entry for the provision of international express parcel delivery services. The only formal requirement to enter the market is the prior registration into the registry of postal operators

Request, point 228.

.

(42) According to the information submitted by the applicant, the market share of the applicant in this segment of the market was [0-5] % in 2020, [0-5] % in 2021 and [0-5] % in 2022 both in terms of value and volume

Request, Figure 22 entitled Structure of the international express parcels market based on revenue values provides data for 2020-2022 based on publicly available financial statements of postal operators and annexes to the financial statements.

. According to the data of the applicant, it is expected that the applicant’s market share will decrease to [0-5] % in 2023

Request, Figure 22. The market share for the year 2023 is based on unaudited preliminary results of the Slovenská pošta, a.s.

.

(43) Almost 90 % of the international express parcel market in Slovakia is covered by four postal operators with market shares above 10 % both in terms of value and volume. The applicant does not belong among the biggest postal service providers in this market

See in this regard, additional information provided by the applicant to the Commission on 22 August 2024 concerning the structure of the market for international express parcel delivery services.

. Therefore, in light of the market share of the applicant, those competitors exert a competitive pressure on the applicant. Moreover, it must be noted that these competitors, unlike the applicant, are not subject to the public procurement rules, which would give them a further competitive advantage over the applicant.

(44) It is also expected that the entry of Nova Post SK s.r.o. into the market in 2023 will further increase competition in this segment of the market

Request, point 189.

.

(45) For the purposes of this Decision and without prejudice to competition law, the factors described in recitals 41, 42, 43 and 44 should be taken as an indication of direct exposure to competition of the applicant which is covered by the procurement law provisions. Consequently, since the conditions set out in Article 34 of Directive 2014/25/EU are met, it can be concluded that Directive 2014/25/EU does not apply to contracts for the pursuit of the aforesaid activity.

3.2.3.4.

Domestic courier services

(46) Based on the information submitted by the applicant, there are several postal operators operating within Slovakia, each having its own network

Request, point 369.

.

(47) The activity on the relevant courier services market can be performed without entering into the registry of postal operators

Request, point 313.

. In this regard, there is no need to prove professional competence for the execution of such activity. Therefore, there are no formal requirements limiting the entry on the relevant market for courier services entry

Request, point 313.

.

(48) The applicant holds an extremely small market share in this market. Precisely, the applicant held a market share of [0-5] % in 2020, [0-5] % in 2021 and [0-5] % in 2022 both in terms of value

See in this regard, additional information submitted by the applicant to the Commission on 23 August 2024. The applicant submitted its estimates of the market, in terms of value, based on the annual statements of relevant companies. The revenues of DHL company on the courier services market were estimated based on the percentage of items of courier services on the total postal services in the domestic market and DHL’s revenue in the domestic market.

and volume

See in this regard, additional information submitted by the applicant on 23 August 2024. The estimates of the market shares, in terms of volume, were based on the total market volume, as published by NRA. The applicant extrapolated the market share of each postal operator calculated based on revenues.

. According to the applicant, it is expected that the applicant’s market share will remain at 0,02 % in 2023.

(49) The market shares of applicant’s key competitors in terms of value

See in this regard, additional information submitted by the applicant on 23 August 2024.

and volume

See in this regard, additional information submitted by the applicant on 23 August 2024.

for the period between 2020 and 2022 are as follows: for the year 2020, KOLOS [55-60] %, DER KURIER Slovakia spol. [20-25] %, GO4 [15-20] % and DHL Express (Slovakia), spol. [0-5] %; for the year 2021, KOLOS [50-55] %, DER KURIER Slovakia spol. [25-30] %, GO4 [15-20] % and DHL Express (Slovakia), spol. [0-5] %; for the year 2022, KOLOS [40-45] %, DER KURIER Slovakia spol. [30-35] %, GO4 [20-25] % and DHL Express (Slovakia), spol. [0-5] %. For the year 2023, the market shares for applicant’s key competitors are as follows: KOLOS [35-40] %, DER KURIER Slovakia spol. [35-40] %, GO4 [20-25] % and DHL Express (Slovakia), spol. [0-5] %.

(50) In light of the factors described in recitals 46, 47, 48 and 49, for the purposes of this Decision and without prejudice to competition law, the Commission finds that the activity relating to the provision of domestic courier services in Slovakia is directly exposed to competition. Consequently, since the conditions set out in Article 34 of Directive 2014/25/EU are met, it can be concluded that Directive 2014/25/EU does not apply to contracts intended to enable the pursuit of the aforesaid activity.

3.2.3.5.

Domestic unaddressed mail delivery services

(51) Based on the information submitted by the applicant, the activity on the relevant unaddressed mail delivery market can be performed without entering into the registry of postal operators. There are no formal requirements limiting the entry on the relevant unaddressed mail market

Request, point 396.

.

(52) The applicant holds relatively a small market share in this market. Precisely, the applicant held a market share of [0-5] % in 2020, [0-5] % in 2021 and [0-5] % in 2022 in terms of value. According to the applicant, it is expected that the applicant’s market share will be close to [0-5] % in 2023

See in this regard, additional information submitted by the applicant on 27 August 2024. The applicant’s estimates are based on the annual statements of selected companies. In this regard, the applicant considered revenues from activities that could be related to unaddressed mail delivery.

. In terms of volume, the applicant held a market share of [5-10] % in 2020, [5-10] % in 2021 and [5-10] % in 2022

Request, Figure 34 is entitled Shares of Slovenská pošta, a.s. on the domestic market of unaddressed mail between 2020 — 2023 based on volumes. This data is based on the report that Slovenská pošta, a.s. provides to the NRA annually within the standard data collection process for all postal operators active in the postal market of the Slovak Republic.

. It is expected that the applicant’s market share will slightly increase to [5-10] % in 2023

Request, Figure 34. The market share for the year 2023 is based on unaudited preliminary results of the Slovenská pošta, a.s.

.

(53) There are more than 10 services providers operating in this market which, together, hold more than 90 % of the market

See in this regard, additional information submitted by the applicant on 1 September 2024.

. Moreover, it must be noted that these competitors, unlike the applicant, are not subject to the public procurement rules, which would give them a further competitive advantage over the applicant.

(54) For the purposes of this Decision and without prejudice to competition law, the factors described in recitals 51, 52 and 53 should be taken as an indication of direct exposure to competition of the applicant which is covered by the procurement law provisions. Consequently, since the conditions set out in Article 34 of Directive 2014/25/EU are met, it can be concluded that Directive 2014/25/EU does not apply to contracts intended to enable the pursuit of the aforesaid activity.

1. CONCLUSION

(55) In view of the factors examined in recitals 6 to 54, the condition of direct exposure to competition laid down in Article 34(1) of Directive 2014/25/EU should be considered to be met in Slovakia in respect of the activity related to domestic parcel delivery services, international standard parcel delivery services, international express parcel delivery services, domestic courier services, and domestic unaddressed mail delivery services.

(56) Since the condition of unrestricted access to the market is deemed to be met, Directive 2014/25/EU should not apply when contracting entities award contracts intended to enable the activities referred to in recital 55 of this Decision to be carried out in Slovakia, nor when design contests are organised for the pursuit of such an activity in that geographic area,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Directive 2014/25/EU shall not apply to the award of contracts by contracting entities and intended to enable the following activities to be carried out in Slovakia:

Domestic parcel delivery services

International standard parcel services

International express parcel delivery services

Domestic courier services

Domestic unaddressed mail delivery services

Article 2

This Decision is addressed to the Slovak Republic.

Done at Brussels, 29 November 2024.

For the Commission

Margrethe Vestager

Executive Vice-President