Following the trend in the UK (where the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 merged the OFT and the Competition Commission into the new Competition and Markets Authority) and the Netherlands (where the Consumer Authority, the Netherlands Competition Authority and the Netherlands Independent Post and Telecommunications Authority were united under the new Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets), Spain has now followed the same trail with Law 3/2013 of 4 June. The move was as bold as it was controversial since it involved no less than merging the competition authority with several sectoral regulators responsible for Telecom, Energy, Railway, Postal,
Audiovisual and Airports. The new competition and regulation behemoth displays an unassuming name – Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia – but its competences are strikingly wide. Only time will tell if this was a wise policy choice...
