The Dutch government’s golden share in former state-own postal monopolies KPN and TNT which give it an effective veto, is illegal, the European Court of Justice ruled today. The shares are an unjustified restriction as they are likely to deter investors from other member states from investing in KPN and TNT, the court said.

The government has already given up its golden share in KPN and is planning to do the same with TNT.
The state still has an 11% stake in TNT and last week announced plans to sell its remaining 8% in KPN. News agency Bloomberg calculates that the Dutch government has made €10 bn from selling off stakes in 18 state-owned companies.