“There is not enough competition in Belgium” De Standaard writes on Wednesday (10 August) that the Belgian Competition Agency (ABC) currently has 26 employees while it would need 40 to 45 to carry out its tasks. According to Deputy Prime Minister Kris Peeters (CD & V), this has resulted in insufficient competition in Belgium, particularly in the telecommunications sector.
"We haven’t been able to strengthen competition for four years," said Jacques Steenbergen, the president of the competition agency. It would require in particular a review of compliance by companies with price legislation.
Because of lack of resources, the agency is ”very selective" in its investigations.
According to a report by the Global Competition Review, personnel issues weigh high on the performance of the Belgian agency, which is ranked at the 34th place among national competition agencies.
The Deputy Prime Minister Kris Peeters is now preparing a royal decree which will allow the agency to hire twenty people next year.
The Brussels Times (Source: Belga)
