STA, 2 October 2020 - Media have reported that the government is drafting a bill which would merge eight key regulators into two super-agencies, whose managements would be appointed by the cabinet. The main arguments for the restructuring is debureaucratisation and streamlining.
The bill, drafted by the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, is in coordination between departments from the middle of this week until Monday.
The public agencies affected by the bill reportedly received the draft only on Thursday, and had a mere 24 hours to send in their comments and remarks. Its wording is not public and there will be no public consultation about it.
The draft obtained by several media outlets envisages an agency for market and consumers, which would absorb the Energy Agency, Agency for Communication Networks and Services, Competition Protection Agency, Traffic Safety Agency, Civil Aviation Agency and Railway Transport Agency.
The new super-agency would regulate the following markets - energy, telecommunications, postal services, media and audiovisual services, and all forms of transport, while also supervising mergers and takeovers and competition and consumer protection.
The government would meanwhile also merge the Securities Market Agency and the Insurance Supervision Agency into a new public agency for financial markets, which would also take over some of the powers from Banka Slovenije, the central bank.
The ministry says the main motivation behind the bill is debureaucratisation, synergies and streamlining of processes, while the media note that the proposals encroached upon the agencies' independence.
The agency for market and consumers would be managed by a seven-member council and a four-member management with a five-year term. Both would be appointed by the government, the latter on proposal from the council after a public call for applications.
The council members in charge of telecommunications, consumer protection and energy would get six-year terms, and the remaining members three-year terms.
A rotation system is envisaged under which up to half of the council may be replaced at once, which is expected to increase the body's independence from economic interests.
The management would feature members in charge of postal, media and audiovisual services, of transport, of electronic communications and of consumer protection.
This is a major difference in comparison with the existing regulation, under which the majority of agency directors need to also be confirmed in the National Assembly.
The super-agency for financial markets would be governed by a five-member council and a three-member management, which would be appointment under the same procedure. Members of both bodies would be appointed for six-year terms.
If the bill is passed in parliament, the two agencies would assume all employees, property, assets, powers, archives and current cases from the existing eight agencies, while the terms of their managements would be terminated immediately.
The government is expected to adopt the bill soon and send it into regular procedure in the National Assembly.
Media are noting that attempts at similar mergers were already made by the second government of Janez Janša (2012-2013), and that ideas about merging financial regulators were floated during the government of Miro Cerar (2014-2018).
