The government as a shareholder

Background and request for advice

The term ‘state-owned enterprises’ refers to private companies in which the government holds shares. There are companies in which the government holds all of the shares and others in which it is one of several shareholders. Sometimes all the other shares are in the hands of other public authorities (as in the case of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and the Port of Rotterdam), while in other situations the co-shareholders are private parties (who sometimes even own the majority of the shares, as in the case of Air France-KLM and ABN-AMRO). Local and regional authorities also hold shares, for example in grid operators, heat companies, waste processors and operating companies. In some cases they acquire these shares together with the central government, but they often do so independently. 

State-owned enterprises are very much in the spotlight. Opinion pieces regularly call for the ‘nationalisation’ of shareholdings such as NS (Dutch Railways) or for the government to be an activist shareholder in shareholdings such as Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. People also frequently advocate the acquisition of new state-owned enterprises when it comes to the construction of new nuclear power plants or facilities for the ‘final’ disposal of nuclear waste. In addition, the energy transition is giving rise to new issues in relation to state-owned enterprises. Take, for example, the reinforcement of TenneT’s capital, the recent changes to the mandate of Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN) and the government’s decision that the majority of shares in heat networks should be owned by the government. 

In this advisory report, the Council for the Environment and Infrastructure will focus on the following question: 
How can – and to what extent should – the government influence existing and possible new state-owned enterprises in view of the major challenges relating to the physical environment and infrastructure? 

The report should result in recommendations for the central government, local and regional authorities, and executive and supervisory board members of state-owned enterprises. The emphasis will be on providing a concrete action perspective for influencing state-owned enterprises. This relates both to the options available for exerting an influence and the conditions under which these can best be used. As a secondary point, we will also consider the conditions under which state-owned enterprises are desirable as a tool.

Explanation

The Council’s advisory report ‘Finance in transition’ (2023) talks about the government’s role in setting an example within state-owned enterprises. According to this report, the central government should hold these organisations to account not only for their financial returns, but also their ESG returns. More information about this advisory report: Finance in transition – Council for the Environment and Infrastructure (rli.nl). 

Schedule

The advisory report is expected to be published in the second quarter of 2025.

Composition of the Council committee 

Jeanet van Antwerpen – committee chair and Council member 
Renée Bergkamp – Council member
Marnix Kluiters – junior Council member
Marike van Lier Lels – external committee member (member of the Supervisory Board of Post-NL and former non-executive board member of various companies and organisations)

In addition, two external advisors are involved in the advisory process. They are independent from the committee and reflect on the draft version of the advice at certain moments. 

• Mr Jan Peter Balkenende (former prime minister, professor emeritus at Erasmus University Rotterdam and currently senior advisor at EY and associate partner at the Hague Corporate Affairs);
• Mr Hans Smits (former CEO at Schiphol Group and Port of Rotterdam Authority and former chair of the supervisory board at KLM, currently a PhD candidate at Utrecht University and Erasmus University Rotterdam and chair of the supervisory board at JAJO).