Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Verwaltungsgericht Köln by order of that court of 30 June 2004 in the case of mdm Versandservice GmbH against Bundesrepublik Deutschland, joined parties: Deutsche Post AG

(Case C-352/04)

(2004/C 262/32)

Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the European Communities by order of the Verwaltungsgericht Köln (Cologne Administrative Court), Germany, of 30 June 2004, received at the Court Registry on 16 August 2004, for a preliminary ruling in the case of mdm Versandservice GmbH against Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Republic of Germany), joined parties: Deutsche Post AG, on the following question:

Is Article 47(2) EC, read together with Article 95 EC, read together with the fifth indent of Article 12 of Directive 97/67/EC, (1) and with Article 7(1) of that directive, in both cases in the version brought into force by Directive 2002/39/EC (2) of the European Parliament and of the Council, to be interpreted as meaning that where a universal service provider applies special tariffs to business customers who supply postal items already sorted to the postal network at points in the delivery chain that are not access points, the universal service provider must also apply those tariffs to undertakings who collect postal items from the sender and supply it already sorted to the postal network to the same access point and under the same conditions as business customers, and that the universal service provider is not entitled to refuse to do so on the ground that it is obliged to provide a universal service?

(1)  OJ L 15 of 21.1.1998, p. 14.

(2)  OJ L 176, p. 21.