Dutch competition watchdog's fitness for purpose questioned by reports
Currently part of the national Economy Ministry, the Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) needs to become a self-governing autonomous decision-making body, according to the reports.
One of the reports says that 'roles and responsibilities are too intertwined" with the ministry and that there are too many contingent dependencies.
The other, carried out by PwC, concluded that there are problems in ACM's business operations, resulting in 'certain areas where relevant standards or national frameworks are not being met, or are being met to a lesser extent.'
The ACM oversees various markets in the Netherlands including energy, telecom, healthcare, transport and postal services; it monitors compliance with regulations and protects consumer interests.
With more and more digital legislation being introduced in the last years, the mandate of the ACM has expanded and it now also oversees companies' compliance with the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA), rules to ensure fair competition online and to combat illegal content and products.
Martijn Snoep, the head of the ACM, told Euronews last December that his agency is 'well equipped' for the new tasks, saying that the regulator planned to have clear enforcement priorities.
Staff appointments
Currently, the Minister of Economic Affairs appoints the chair and other members of the ACM, nor does the agency have full control over the organisation and personnel policy relating to the rest of its staff.
The regulator also lacks budgetary freedom, which, according to the reports, results in 'lack of agility'.
'This is evident, for example, in the policy areas of energy and digital markets, which will result in many new tasks and associated expenses for the ACM in the near future, both in its role as supervisor and (particularly) as regulator,' the reports say.
The ACM said in a recent letter that its merger and acquisition oversight is 'currently insufficiently efficient and effective'. In addition, it initiated fewer investigations in 2024 than the previous year, which can be explained by the significant capacity allocated to probes initiated in 2023 that continued into 2024.
'The amount of fines imposed increased slightly in 2024, but has fallen sharply over the past three years compared to previous years. A significant decline in competition is particularly noticeable. [… ] While fines should not be a goal in themselves, they do contribute to the deterrent effect of oversight. This, therefore, remains a point of attention for me,' Minister Karremans said in his letter to parliament.
The ACM has initiated an improvement process for its business operations, the letter said.
Karremans, part of the outgoing government, said that his successor will have to decide on revising the ACM's organisational structure. The Netherlands will have a parliamentary election on 29 October.
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