The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) ruled last week that Spanish authorities had breached the European Community’s rules in 2013, when the government created the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) by merging all sector, market and competition regulators into a single agency, bringing to an early end the mandate of telecommunications regulator Bernardo Lorenzo.
The ECJ determined that the government led by Mariano Rajoy had endangered the regulator’s independence by terminating the mandate of the previous sector regulators before the new CNMC was in place.
Lorenzo, former head of telecommunications regulator CMT and whose 6-year term would have run to 2017, responded with a lawsuit denouncing his unjustified and early dismissal. The case reached the Spanish Supreme Court, which turned it over to the ECJ for a final decision.
The CNMC was created in 2013, merging all previous sector regulators into a single, multi-sector organism. The ECJ’s ruling against the CNMC, created in 2013 by merging all previous sector regulators into a single, multi-sector organism, is seen as a new warning from EU authorities to Mr. Rajoy’s government, adding to other alleged violations of EU regulations.
Full Content: Global Competition Review
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
DOJ and FTC Introduce Website for Reporting Anti-Competitive Healthcare Practices
Apr 18, 2024 by
CPI
US Congress Advances Legislation to Compel TikTok Sale
Apr 18, 2024 by
CPI
UK Financial Sector Advocates Enhanced Regulatory Accountability
Apr 18, 2024 by
CPI
Google and All 50 States Defend $700 Million Consumer Settlement
Apr 18, 2024 by
CPI
Colorado Enacts First Law to Protect Consumer Brainwave Data
Apr 18, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI