This Thursday, the protagonists of the program La revuelta were served humor on a silver platter. They had received the resolution from the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) regarding a complaint filed by UTECA, the Union of Open Commercial Television. The conflict has a strictly regulatory origin: RTVE cannot broadcast conventional advertising and can only incorporate advertisements in the form of sponsorships in programs of cultural or sporting content. The complaint started from the premise that La revuelta violated this legal framework. The CNMC contradicted this with a bewildering wording that justified the broadcast as cultural. “The program is presented by its director in a humorous key and has great dynamism”. And it added that Broncano appeared on stage “with great energy and liveliness”. The text of the resolution was so delirious that the presenter himself and collaborator Jorge Ponce made fun of the argumentative twists, for example when describing the content: “Capybaras were discussed, 'walking football' or Angelman syndrome and the actor Salva Reina and the Spanish rugby team were interviewed”. All in all, the regulatory body considered that, despite being an entertainment space, the format was not incompatible with the cultural dimension and, therefore, the sponsorship did not contravene the regulations.

The National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) has stated in its report that the massive blackout of April 28th of last year, which left the Iberian Peninsula in darkness for hours, could have been avoided. There were "legislative and regulatory tools available, as well as mechanisms to guarantee supplyThe supervisory body notes, although it considers it necessary to address improvements in the electricity system "to respond to the current needs of the system and provide it with greater robustness." The report does not point fingers at those responsible for the blackout and includes some improvements that could be introduced to improve the system's operation and prevent new incidents. Almost eleven months after the peninsular blackout, the regulator has published its advisory report, issued "without prejudice to any other actions that may be appropriate within the framework of the ongoing investigation into the incident." The report, prepared by a panel of European experts from ENTSO-E (the European regulators of electricity networks), proposes recommendations to strengthen the efficiency and resilience of the Spanish electricity system, based on the conclusions drawn from the incident investigation. The system is undergoing a transformation characterized by a high penetration of renewable generation, greater operational complexity, and increasing voltage volatility.

The agency emphasizes that the information gathered through specific requests and meetings held with the sector in working groups "has allowed for a deeper diagnosis of the current state of the electricity system and the measures needed to address it." As areas for improvement to meet the system's current needs and make it more robust, the CNMC sees a need to implement measures that "mitigate sudden changes in voltage"and also analyze the evolution of the other system parameters from the point of view of the impact they have on voltage variations."

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The Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) has imposed measures on the energy supplier Factorenergia to prevent electricity and gas consumers from being affected by deceptive commercial practices. The Catalan company holds barely 1% of the market share in gas and electricity, but accounted for 61% of the complaints filed with the competition regulator for deceptive commercial practices between January 2023 and August 2025. Furthermore, its early termination rate—that is, the time before contracts expire—is significantly higher than the industry average. The agency, chaired by Cani Fernández, explains that irregular commercial practices, through "abusive or misleading sales methods," occur when consumers are not clearly informed of who is calling them, on behalf of which supplier, or the commercial purpose of the call. Therefore, Factorenergia will have to comply with two types of measures, focused on new telephone contracts, and an additional one that will allow the CNMC (National Markets and Competition Commission) to determine whether the company complies with the supervision of its sales agents' activities. Regarding sales calls, to make consumers more aware of what they are doing, the obligations for identifying the company making the call, the company on whose behalf it is made, and the purpose of the communication will be strengthened. Furthermore, the requirement to obtain the consumer's prior consent to receive the call will also be reinforced. As for contracting and obtaining consent, the information that must be provided to the consumer in this process will be strengthened. In addition, the agency establishes the periodic monitoring of key indicators to detect deficiencies in sales practices and, where appropriate, adopt corrective measures, as well as the periodic submission of information to the CNMC.

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The Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) has opened disciplinary proceedings against eleven engineering consultancies for allegedly manipulating public tenders. According to the regulatory body, the firms involved allegedly did so through agreements and the exchange of sensitive commercial information. The CNMC considers these practices contrary to Article 1 of Law 15/2007, of July 3, on the Defense of Competition. The companies under investigation by the agency chaired by Cani Fernández are Alauda Ingeniería, SA, Applus Norcontrol, SLU, Ciesm-Intevia SAU, Estudios y Servicios de Movilidad y Gestión de Infraestructuras, SL, Heymo Ingeniería, SA, Incope Consultores, SL, Ingeniería y Sistemas, SA, Tema Ingeniería, SA, and TPF Getinsa Euroestudios, SL. These companies allegedly divided up engineering consulting and technical assistance contracts issued by various state, regional, and local public bodies. In short, according to the CNMC, they "allegedly submitted fictitious bids in a concerted manner." Analysis of various tenders

The Competition Directorate of the CNMC (National Markets and Competition Commission) has initiated this sanctioning procedure after analyzing several tenders issued by the Directorate General of Highways of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility for engineering consulting and technical assistance services. The CNMC inspected the offices of AECOM Spain DCS, SL, Alauda, ​​Prointec, SGS Tecnos, SA, and Getinsa between January 30 and February 2, 2024; and of Esmovilidad, Heymo, imesAPI, SA, and Tema between November 25 and 28, 2024. The initiation of the procedure does not presuppose the final outcome of the investigation. A maximum period of 24 months is now open for its resolution.

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The Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) has imposed fines totaling €20.5 million on several Repsol Group companies and banned them from participating in public contracts, the agency, chaired by Cani Fernández, announced on Tuesday. Specifically, the CNMC sanctioned Repsol Comercial de Productos Petrolíferos, Solred, and Campsa Estaciones de Servicio for implementing an "abusive" profit margin reduction policy, to the detriment of independent service stations with which it competes. According to the agency, during the sanctioned period, the energy company held a dominant position in the wholesale market for automotive fuels at service stations nationwide. "Competition law requires that companies in a dominant position bear particular responsibility for not restricting competition," the CNMC added.

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The BBVA-Banc Sabadell case has opened the door to exploring the limits of the laws that have come into play throughout the hostile takeover bid, one of the most media-covered and politicized in recent years, which ultimately derailed. Consequently, the need, or lack thereof, to review and update some of the regulations has been on the table, the content of which has been at one point or another a key issue during these seventeen months that marked the outcome. The Competition Law and the Takeover Law have been placed in the spotlight. Had a merger between BBVA and Banc Sabadell been successful, the banking law, which leaves it up to the Spanish government to authorize or reject a merger, would also have come into play.

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For the first time, the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) has decided to prohibit a merger of companies since its creation in 2013. This is the case involving Curium Pharma Holding Spain, SLU (Curium), owned by Luxembourg-based funds, which planned to take control of the Institute of Radiopharmacy.

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In just one month, high-speed rail users between Barcelona and Madrid are clear: the elimination of Renfe's AVLO trains has skyrocketed prices. This has been seen by those traveling from one city to another, but also by those who took advantage of the railway operator's low-cost option to reach the Catalan capital from Tarragona, at a better price compared to the AVE.

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When vacation planning begins, the process of finding a hotel or apartment now goes through Booking, without depending on third parties like travel agencies. This change has had many impacts on the day-to-day operations of these establishments. With Booking, they have gained visibility and transparency—reviews play a significant role in choosing one place over another—but they have also had to adapt to clauses they consider abusive. The price offered by Booking is usually the lowest because, as industry leaders criticize, the platform doesn't allow them to market their rooms cheaper on other digital platforms, not even on its website. This is without forgetting that hotels must pay a fee for each reservation, an average of 15% in Europe, although it can reach more than 20%.

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Trains are experiencing a golden age, with record-breaking years in a row and stations packed to the rafters. Everything accelerated after the pandemic, coinciding with the liberalization of high-speed trains that began in May 2021 with the arrival of the French operator Ouigo to cover the Barcelona-Madrid route, a corridor that had only been served by Renfe's AVE (High Speed Trains) for more than ten years. A month later, Renfe's low-cost option, AVLO, came into operation, and in 2022, it was the turn of the Italian company Iryo, which over the years extended competition to the rest of Spain's corridors. This competition has driven down ticket prices, while boosting ridership and leading to more incidents on routes that were not usually problematic.

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The National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) published this Monday the conditions imposed on the public takeover bid (OPA) by the Italian group Esseco for the Catalan multinational chemical company Ercros. In a statement, the institution itself considered that there are two markets where the company resulting from the sale would be in a situation close to monopoly.

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A technical debate has been raging in the electricity sector for months and is now entering a decisive phase: how much will have to be paid in the coming years to deploy and improve the electricity grid that allows light to reach our homes? The question involves a significant portion of the sector's companies, including Red Eléctrica, the electricity system operator, but also the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) and the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. But the answers differ widely among the companies and the CNMC. One of the underlying reasons is the fact that it is the consumer who is directly affected by the final decision: the cost of the grid is passed on to the electricity bill.

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The National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) approved on the 12th a revision of the technical standards that regulate the operation of the electrical system and, specifically, voltage control, a standard that is key to avoiding blackouts like the one on April 28th. Although the CNMC approved it on the 12th, it was made public this Thursday after the reports on the origin of the blackout made by the Spanish government and Red Eléctrica, the system operator.

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The National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) has decided to advance the acquisition of Esteve Teijin Healthcare by Oximesa to Phase 2—a more in-depth analysis in which parties considered affected can submit objections. According to the agency chaired by Cani Fernández, the transaction could lead to excessive dominance of the home respiratory therapy market.

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BBVA's takeover bid for Banc Sabadell continues to provoke controversy. June.

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The maze of the April 28th power outage appears to be beginning to unravel. On the one hand, the beginning of the incident is now defined in the provinces of Granada, Badajoz, and Seville—a few days ago, the Spanish government already focused on the southwest of the country. On the other hand, it has been ruled out that the Spanish electricity system operator, Red Eléctrica, suffered a cyberattack. Both conclusions were anticipated this Wednesday by the Third Vice President and Minister of Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, during her appearance in the Congress of Deputies to account for the electrical incident that For hours it left the entire Iberian Peninsula without supplies.

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In addition to the potential compensation that citizens and companies may claim for the massive power outage on April 28, the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) could impose "multi-million-dollar" fines if it detects a serious or very serious violation at the root of the incident. This was warned by the organization's president, Cani Fernández, who announced that the agency has already begun investigating what happened that day that caused the Iberian Peninsula to be without power for hours. In fact, the day after the blackout, the Competition Commission announced that it was monitoring the events and was opening the door to "carrying out the relevant actions in accordance with the supervisory function entrusted to it."

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A global bank, BBVA, with significant subsidiaries in Mexico and Turkey, wants to take control of a deeply rooted bank, Banc Sabadell. These are two very different business models. And a year after the takeover bid (OPA), which was described by the Catalan bank's board of directors as hostile, uncertainties remain. The market is betting that the group chaired by Carlos Torres Vila will ultimately improve the offer, even though he has publicly rejected it. In fact, he can't do anything else, since it's unlikely he'll announce it in advance.

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Almost a year after beginning the analysis of BBVA's hostile takeover bid for Banc Sabadell, The National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) has authorized the operationHowever, it is linked to commitments that BBVA must assume if the takeover bid is successful in order to avoid weakening competition in the financial sector and guarantee financial inclusion, although some, such as the Catalan Competition Authority, have already warned of the difficulty of avoiding these problems.

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White smoke billows from 47 Calle Alcalá in Madrid. The National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) has authorized, with certain commitments, BBVA's takeover bid for Banc Sabadell, leaving the Spanish government in the hands of a transaction that could lead to the demise of the state's fourth-largest bank. After a meeting frustrated by Monday's power outage, the five members of the CNMC's Competition Chamber met again on Wednesday to reach a final verdict on the transaction. In a marathon session, the body chaired by Cani Fernández managed to reach a unanimous position on the transaction, as reported by the body Wednesday night.

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