| Popis: |
Over the last two decades, there has been a trend amongst EU Member States to set up specialized market authorities with rather strictly defined competences. Recently, it seems that a different approach is favoured: EU Member States set up new authorities with broader scopes of competence or even combine existing authorities into super-authorities, thereby concentrating both power and responsibility. The Netherlands is an example where the legislator has chosen to combine three administrative bodies into one super-authority by 1 January 2013. This new entity, the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), is described by its Chairman-to-be, Chris Fonteijn, as a body that applies a problem-based approach. That being so, the questions remain as to exactly how the ACM will carry out this new approach and how it will use its competences in doing so. This article places the ACM within the general European trend of merging authorities and expanding power. It aims to answer the question whether the ACM has been given the right structure and the necessary powers to live up to the legislator's expectations. In the first place, we give an overview of the trend towards more concentrated market authorities in Europe. Secondly, we explain the structural changes which the ACM will undergo and identify its key elements. Thirdly, we evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the new super-authority and explain their practical implications. We conclude with some remarks about what other countries can learn from the Dutch example. |
