Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Post AG, Europe’s largest postal service, lost a challenge against a European Union decision to re-open a probe against the company over possible state aid after complaints from competitors.

The EU General Court, the region’s second-highest court based in Luxembourg, today dismissed the challenge as “inadmissible.” The ruling can be appealed to the EU Court of Justice.

Deutsche Post in 2007 appealed a decision by the European Commission, the EU’s executive agency, to investigate “all public measures, such as transfers of public money and tariff income” granted to the Bonn-based company and its predecessor Postdienst since 1989.

The probe followed a commission decision in June 2002 that Germany must recover 572 million euros ($766 million) of illegal aid to Deutsche Post because the postal service had improperly used the money to cover losses in its parcel-delivery business.

The case is: T-421/07, Deutsche Post v. European Commission.

--Editors: Peter Chapman, Christopher Scinta

To contact the reporter on this story: Stephanie Bodoni in Luxembourg at sbodoni@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net