Economic affairs minister Maxime Verhagen is considering merging the competition body NMa, telecoms watchdog Opta and the consumers’ body Consumentenautoriteit into a single, powerful authority, news agency ANP reports.

A merged group would make regulation more efficient and could cut spending by 10%, the minister said.
He is also considering including the healthcare authority NZa in the mix.
Verhagen will report back on his plans in early 2011.