At its plenary session this week, the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) announced a deliberate reshuffle of leadership within its Regulatory Oversight Chamber. This change follows the passing of Ángel Torres, the organization’s vice president, last August, and results in a temporary adjustment to the chamber’s composition and governance structure.
The CNMC stated that this scheduling change and the revised chamber layout will be officially published in the Official State Gazette as well as on the commission’s website.
The CNMC Consejo is divided into two chambers: one focused on competition matters and the other on regulatory oversight. After the death of CNMC vice president Ángel Torres on 19 August and the expirations of directors María Ortiz Aguilar on 23 August and María Pilar Canedo Arrillaga on 26 July, the Regulatory Oversight Chamber briefly operated with only two members.
The CNMC emphasized that the situation has been resolved. The chamber now maintains a valid constitution, consisting of five representatives, in accordance with Article 18.4 of Law No. 3/2013 of 4 June and Article 6 of the internal operations regulation. This framework requires the rotation of a member from the Competition Chamber.
Extraordinary Measure
Josep María Salas Prat is set to rotate into the Auditing Room as part of what the CNMC notes as an extraordinary measure to ensure the chambers function smoothly. This approach aligns with the general rotation rules governing cross-chamber assignments and with the statutory provisions that underlie CNMC governance.
The General Assembly approved the appointment of one of the two longest-serving directors in the Competition Chamber and selected a candidate from among those with significant tenure to participate in the rotation, in line with the established mechanism for rotating directors.
The CNMC also confirmed that the requirement for a director to have more than two years of executive service in the chamber and to have not previously participated in a rotation is satisfied in this instance.
This marks the third rotation enacted under the current general rotation rules, following earlier implementations on 6 October 2022 and 20 December 2022.
Starting Tuesday, 5 September, the Competition Chamber will comprise Carlos Aguilar Paredes, María Jesús Martín Martínez, and Bernardo Lorenzo Almendros, with the presidency entrusted to Cani Fernández, Chairman of CNMC.
Meanwhile, the Regulatory Oversight Chamber will include Xabier Ormaetxea Garai, Pilar Sánchez Núñez, and Josep María Salas Prat, with the interim presidency assigned to the chamber’s most senior director, Xabier Ormaetxea Garai.