The Council of Ministers today approved the royal decree that regulates the Organic Statute of the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC). It is a structural reform that seeks to improve efficiency, legal certainty and transparency in the functioning of markets and productive sectors, thus guaranteeing effective competition. At the same time, there is significant cost savings, since both the number of directors, as well as management positions and headquarters is reduced as a result of the merger of five organizations into the new CNMC.
The CNMC, created by Law 3/2013 of June 4, is configured as a public body attached to the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, with its own legal personality and full independence from the Government, Public Administrations and market agents. The CNMC is considered to be the National Competition Authority, the National Regulatory Authority and the National Regulatory Authority. It is scheduled to start operating during the first fortnight of October.
The governing bodies of the CNMC are the CNMC Council (made up of the President, the Vice President and eight Directors) and the President of the CNMC itself, which will also be the CNMC Council. The Council will function in plenary and in Chambers. The Chambers will hear matters that are not expressly attributed to the Plenary. The Plenary Council will approve, by a majority of six votes, the system of rotation between Chambers of the directors, establishing the number of directors subject to rotation and the frequency of this.
The management bodies of the CNMC are the Instruction Boards that are structured as follows:
- The Competition Directorate: Subdirectorate for Industry and Energy, Subdirectorate for Information Society, Subdirectorate for Services, Subdirectorate for Cartels and Clemency and the Subdirectorate for Surveillance
- The Telecommunications and Audiovisual Sector Directorate: Electronic Communications Regulation Branch, Electronic Communications Market Analysis Branch, Technical Electronic Communications Branch and Audiovisual Branch.
- The Energy Directorate: Electric Power Sub-Directorate, Natural Gas Sub-Directorate, Economic-Financial Regulation Sub-Directorate and Regulated Prices and Energy-Derived Markets Sub-Directorate.
- The Transport and Postal Sector Directorate: Airport Tariffs Sub-Directorate, Railway Sector Sub-Directorate, Postal Sector Sub-Directorate and the Market Analysis Sub-Directorate.
Within its powers, the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness has proposed the 10 members who will make up the CNMC Council:
| President | José María Marín Burned |
|---|---|
| Vice president | María Fernández Pérez |
| Directors | Idoia Zenarruzabeitia Beldarraín Josep María Guinart Solá Fernando Torremocha and García-Sáenz Clotilde de la Higuera González María Ortíz Aguilar Benigno Valdés Díaz Eduardo García Matilla Diego Rodríguez Rodríguez |
The 10 future directors must appear in the Congress Economic Commission in principle next week for ratification and subsequent appointment by the Council of Ministers. From there the calendar is as follows:
- Constitution of the CNMC: once the members of the Council are appointed, they must proceed to their constitution within 20 days after the publication of the appointments, through the constitution of its Council, and appoint the management personnel, adopt the Internal Operating Regulations and proceed to the integration of material and human resources, for which they have four weeks from the constitution.
- Commissioning of the CNMC. This will begin on the date determined by Order of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, at which time the Commissions that form part are fully extinguished.
On the other hand, the CNMC will have its main headquarters in Madrid and another headquarters in Barcelona where the Telecommunications and Audiovisual Sector Directorate will be located, as well as the units or people attached to them that are deemed necessary.
