AMSTERDAM, March 10 (Reuters) - The Dutch government has proposed merging three regulatory agencies -- the competition and consumer authorities, and the telecom watchdog -- to cut costs, a Dutch newspaper reported on Thursday.
Maxime Verhagen, minister of economic affairs, agriculture and innovation, will put the consolidation plan to the cabinet on Friday, with a view to merging the three in January 2012, newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad said, citing anonymous sources.
The merger could result in savings of about 10 percent, the paper said. Other regulators may also be merged into the new agency, including the health care authority, the paper said. (Reporting by Roberta B. Cowan; Editing by Sara Webb)