The Dutch regulator ACM has published its Agenda for 2024. In the Agenda the ACM describes its targets and focus areas for 2024. The ACM is a relatively large organization (growing towards 845 FTE) and is the regulator in various areas of the law, such as consumer law, competition law and regulatory (energy, telecom, postal services and transport) law. The Agenda gives an indication of which topics the ACM will focus on for 2024 and – equally important – which areas will be of less importance for the ACM. 

In 2024, the ACM will focus on the digital economy, the energy transition and sustainability. These topics, as mentioned by the ACM, might sound familiar, as they are a continuation of the focus areas of 2023. However, there are some notable changes in the ACM’s perspective.

With regard to the ‘digital economy’ the ACM will be active in the field the of Digital Services Act (DSA), the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and the Platform-to-Business (P2B) Regulation. Although the European Commission is in charge of enforcing the DSA and DMA, the ACM sees a clear role in educating companies and consumers on these topics as well as in the initiation of investigations and provision of support to the Commission. For the energy transition the ACM will be busy with the Dutch energy market’s problems around net congestions. In relation to sustainability the ACM will, amongst other topics, focus on tackling greenwashing and misleading sustainability claims. It announced that it will in particular look at sustainability claims made in the transport sector.

There is not too much attention to competition law in the Agenda for 2024, but there are some topics to mention. The ACM will continue to give guidance on sustainability agreements but will also turn its focus to companies impeding the sustainability transition by abusing their market power or colluding with competitors. Additionally, the ACM announced investigations into the market power of online platforms in relation to economic dependence and vendor lock-in. The ACM will also finish its investigation into the Dutch savings market. Lastly, the ACM will focus on mergers in the media and telecommunications sector, assessing whether consolidation will result in unilateral price setting, quality reduction of products and services or the stifling of innovation.

One noteworthy goal of the ACM for 2024 is that it aims to win 75% of the cases brought to court. It is admirable that the ACM is willing to set this target and announce it publicly. It is interesting to see whether this target will influence the enforcement appetite of the ACM. Will this goal prompt them, even more than before, only to pursue cases that are clear-cut and leave the more complex cases aside? Only time will tell.

If you need more information or further guidance in this area, please contact Joost van Roosmalen and Pauline Kuipers. 

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